Management Approach for Traumatic Complex Degloving Perineal Injuries: A Retrospective Review of 6 Cases

Degloving perineal injury is defined as avulsion of the perineal skin and subcutaneous tissue from its surrounding fascia, bone, and organs. This injury is most commonly caused by road vehicle accidents or alleged falls from heights. This devastating injury is associated with high morbidity and mortality if mismanaged. We retrospectively evaluated our management protocol for degloving perineal injury and the clinical outcomes of our case series.

Six cases of open perineal degloving injuries were managed and retrospectively reviewed at our center from 2018 to 2020, comprising 2 cases of isolated degloving wounds of the scrotum and 4 cases of complex perineal injuries associated with pelvic fracture, anorectal injuries, or complete transacted urethral injuries. Two of the 6 patients had open-book pelvic fractures that required pelvic stabilization.

Complex degloving perineal injuries can be managed through (1) resuscitation and pelvic packing; (2) urgent life-threatening treatments; (3) pelvic exploration with debridement; and (4) primary repair of anorectal or transacted urethral injuries with external pelvic fixation. All patients promptly underwent surgical repair after immediate diagnosis and resuscitation. Additionally, patients were operated by specialized teams according to the proposed management approach as shown in Figure 1. All patients recovered well and had good functional outcomes.

A multidisciplinary team comprising general surgeons, urologists, orthopedic surgeons, and plastic surgeons was involved in this review. Prompt diagnosis and immediate surgical intervention remain the standard requirements for complex degloving perineal injuries. We proposed a management protocol that is safe for managing complex perineal injuries.