[Surgery of fractures of the long bones of the extremities at surgical departments in Czechoslovakia in 1986].

The authors present detailed analysis of treating long bones fractures in all-state surveys and the proportion of closed and open surgeries and their lethality, the occurrence of complications and repeated interventions and the mode they influence mean treatment period. The authors evaluate 3,680 surgeries for upper extremities fractures and 6,808 surgeries on lower extremities. In the former localization there were relatively infrequent complications, only in 3.6%, considerably more in the latter localization. A repeated intervention proved necessary in the former case in 2.8%, in the latter localization in 2.5%. Lethality rate was only 7.2% in the former, whereas 96.2% in the latter localization - high lethality was especially in the femoral cervix fractures. The ratio of closed and open surgeries was balanced in the arm fractures, crus or ankle fractures. The surgeries in the forearm localization were in about 1/4 of cases, 3/4 in the cervix and even 3/4 in the thigh localization. The mean treatment period was significantly longer in all surgeries, in complications and after reoperations. It proved to be different in specific types of surgeries, in relation to age and perhaps due to low numbers. It was particularly high in the cervix fractures; the operation treatment was about four days shorter than in the closed surgeries. We were glad to note that the application of external fixation devices increased several times since 1985.