Gunshot wounds to the hand. The Martin Luther King, Jr, General Hospital experience.

Abstract

This article is a retrospective review of patients who presented to Martin Luther King, Jr./Drew Medical Center with gunshot wounds and had either isolated or associated injuries to the hand. The following is an account of those injuries noting the location, soft-tissue or bony involvement, and interventional methods that were implemented in the treatment of these patients who resided primarily in South Central Los Angeles. Prompt evaluation and initiation of treatment is essential in the management of both high- and low-velocity gunshot wounds so as to decrease the potential morbidity that often follows. Society must also look at the prevalence of these injuries and address the underlying issues that often are the root of the acts of violence.