Civilian gunshot wounds.

A wide variety of injuries are encountered in civilian gunshot wounds with the severity directly related to the amount of kinetic energy imparted on the tissues. A surgeon should be aware of the different ballistic properties of the various firearms and be prepared to treat each patient as an individual. Furthermore, the physician should be attentive to severe complications that may occur even after appropriate treatment has been given. During an 18 month period on the LSU Surgical Service, 431 patients were admitted for gunshot wounds of which 218 had extremity injuries. One hundred seventy of these patients were evaluated and surveyed for type of injury, surgical procedure, and complications relating to the velocity of the involved.