Internal fixation in a combat theater hospital.

Limited data are available on the use of internal fixation in combat zone hospitals. The authors performed a retrospective review of 713 surgical cases during 2 Operation Enduring Freedom deployments to a Level III theater hospital in 2007 and 2009 to 2010. The epidemiology and short- to intermediate-term outcomes of patients treated with internal fixation devices were studied. The authors found that, with judicious use, internal fixation under a damage control protocol in a combat theater hospital can be performed with acceptable complication rates.