Unconventional and 'non-lethal' weapons are being used in crowd control regularly nowadays. The use of these arms is not risk-free. The paramilitary forces in 2010 used the old fashioned slingshots for crowd control in Kashmir. A young male suffered from a fracture of the distal humerus due to a marble from a slingshot. He was managed by debridement and plaster splintage. Use of apparently innocuous weapons for crowd control is not without risk, as the projectiles fired from them can achieve high velocities and cause significant damage.
Elbow Joint ; Fractures, Bone ; Humans ; Humerus

Nonunion of the humerus in a severely osteoporotic bone is a likely event especially if the fracture is transverse. The management of such a combination is a challenge. Most of the conventional fixation methods are unlikely to succeed as the bone failure precedes implant failure in osteoporosis. The challenge is further compounded in severe osteoporosis when the cortical thickness is affected more severely. We used a combination of an intramedullary fibula with a locking plate in 5 cases. The results show that it may be a good combination in such situations as the bone strength is augmented and the plate pullout is less likely.
Aged ; Bone Plates ; Female ; Fibula ; transplantation ; Fracture Fixation, Intramedullary ; methods ; Fractures, Ununited ; surgery ; Humans ; Humeral Fractures ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Osteoporosis ; complications

PURPOSERubber bullets are considered a non-lethal method of crowd control and are being used over the world. However the literature regarding the pattern and management of these injuries is scarce for the forensic pathologist as well as for the traumatologist. The objective of this report was to add our experience to the existing literature.

METHODSFrom June 2008 to August 2010 the Government Hospital for Bone and Joint Surgery Barzulla and the Department of Orthopaedics, SKIMS Medical College/Hospital Bemina Srinagar received 28 patients for management of their orthopaedic injuries caused by rubber bullets. We documented all injuries and also recorded the management issues and complications that we encountered.

RESULTSAll patients weremales with an age range of 11e32 years and were civilians who had been hit by rubber bullets fired by the police and the paramilitary forces. Among them, 19 patients had injuries of the lower limbs and 9 patients had injuries of the upper limbs. All patients were received within 6 h of being shot.

CONCLUSIONOur findings suggest that these weapons are capable of causing significant injuries including fractures and it is important for the surgeon to be well versed with the management of such injuries especially in areas of unrest. The report is also supportive of the opinion that these weapons are lethal and should hence be reclassified.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Child ; Humans ; Lower Extremity ; injuries ; Male ; Rubber ; Wounds, Gunshot ; surgery

The Hoffa fracture is an uncommon fracture. There is a lot of confusion about its diagnosis and management with several conflicting reports in literature. We reported a 25-year-old patient with non-union of Hoffa fracture, and meanwhile tried to develop an algorithm-based treatment for Hoffa fractures. A systematic review of the available literature was performed. Medline, Embase, the Cochrane Library and PubMed were searched for relevant articles. Fifty-five articles were reviewed, and the clinical knowledge base was summarized. The understanding of the mechanism of trauma has become more nuanced. The literature has also evolved to classify the fracture with the purpose of surgical management in mind. This can be used to plan approach and fixation with preservation of blood supply. Classification can also prognosticate the outcomes in Hoffa fracture.
Adult ; Algorithms ; Femoral Fractures/surgery* ; Fracture Fixation, Internal ; Humans