[The surgical treatment of gunshot wounds]

The authors have made an analysis of results of clinical observations of 953 patients with gunshot wounds of soft tissues. It was found that primary surgical treatment (PST) of the gunshot wounds often proved to be not radical. Later it required reoperations in 30% of the wounded. To get more exact indications for a repeated surgical treatment it is necessary to make a careful revision of the gunshot wound within 3-5 days after getting the wound. The indications for reoperations are as follows: the development of secondary necrosis of the tissues necessary removal of the foreign body, opening of the pockets and leaks in order to provide valuable drainage as well as nonradical PST due to various causes. Reoperations performed according to the indications allowed to make the duration of treatment at an average 7 days shorter and the development of suppurations two times less frequent.