ABSTRACT

Objective:

Patients for whom emergency department physicians in a University Training and Research Hospital asked for plastic surgery consultation were evaluated retrospectively.

Material and Methods:

Data files were reviewed for patients who were admitted for trauma and for whom a plastic surgery consultation was requested over a four year period (January 2007-January 2011).

Results:

It was determined in the study group that the majority of cases were male patients (70.8%, n=807). Injuries from piercing-cutting objects were found to be the most common; this was followed by work and traffic accidents, respectively. Consultation was often requested between 20:00 and 24:00 (n=495, 43.4%). When the injury regions were examined, the region that was most commonly injured was identified to be the upper extremity (n=849, 74.5%). This was followed by the head and neck region (n=236, 20.7%), lower extremities (n=39, 3.4%) and the body (n=16, 1.4%). It was found that consultations were often carried out for tendon injuries caused by piercing-cutting objects in the upper extremity, and cases were mainly from the paediatric age group in consultations requested due to facial injuries.

Conclusion:

The team in the emergency department should be composed of people with specialised training in the field of emergency medicine or receiving this training. Aleviating the concerns of a family may reduce improper consultation requests.