Journals / Eskisehir Medical Journal / 2026 / Volume: 7 Issue: 1

Fasciotomy for Earthquake-Related Extremity Crush Injury: Timing, Anatomic Localization, Co-procedures, and In-Hospital Mortality in a Single-Center Cohort

Depremle İlgili Ekstremite Ezilme Yaralanmaları için Fasyotomi: Tek Merkezli Kohortta Zamanlama, Anatomik Yerleşim, Eşzamanlı İşlemler ve Hastane İçi Mortalite

Mehmet Yiğit Gökmen(ÇANAKKALE ONSEKİZ MART ÜNİVERSİTESİ, TIP FAKÜLTESİ, CERRAHİ TIP BİLİMLERİ BÖLÜMÜ, ORTOPEDİ VE TRAVMATOLOJİ ANABİLİM DALI)0000-0003-1243-2057
Hasan Orkun Varmış(SAĞLIK BİLİMLERİ ÜNİVERSİTESİ, ADANA ŞEHİR SAĞLIK UYGULAMA VE ARAŞTIRMA MERKEZİ, CERRAHİ TIP BİLİMLERİ BÖLÜMÜ, ORTOPEDİ VE TRAVMATOLOJİ ANABİLİM DALI)0000-0003-2680-2282
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Publication Date
2025-12-28
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AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

These data emphasize the need for early staffing surge, instrument and dressing preparedness, structured wound-care pathways, and integration for crush syndrome.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

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Objective & Hypothesis:Introduction: Earthquakes cause a high rate of limb crush injuries complicated by acute compartment syndrome (ACS), leading to numerous fatalities.
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Key Findings & Data:Following the 2023 earthquakes in Türkiye, we aimed to characterize the timing, anatomical distribution, accompanying procedures, and short-term outcomes of fasciotomies performed for acute compartment syndrome at a tertiary referral center.
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Conclusion & Impact:These data emphasize the need for early staffing surge, instrument and dressing preparedness, structured wound-care pathways, and integration for crush syndrome.
🔬Design:Research Article
📍Scope:2023 Verileri
⚙️Variables:Earthquake · Compartment syndrome · Trauma

Abstract

Introduction: Earthquakes cause a high rate of limb crush injuries complicated by acute compartment syndrome (ACS), leading to numerous fatalities. Following the 2023 earthquakes in Türkiye, we aimed to characterize the timing, anatomical distribution, accompanying procedures, and short-term outcomes of fasciotomies performed for acute compartment syndrome at a tertiary referral center. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study at Adana City Training and Research Hospital during the first week following the earthquake. Patients with extremity crush injury were included; those undergoing fasciotomy for suspected or confirmed ACS constituted the fasciotomy cohort. Demographic, clinical, procedural, and mortality data were extracted from medical records. Comparative analyses assessed age, timing, fracture association, and co-procedures between fasciotomy and non-fasciotomy groups. Results: Among 473 patients with extremity crush injury, 327 (69.1%) underwent fasciotomy. Fasciotomies clustered within the first 48 hours and predominantly involved the lower limb (68.5%), especially the cruris. Compared with non-fasciotomy patients, the fasciotomy cohort was younger (p < 0.001), underwent surgery sooner after the earthquake (p < 0.001), and was less likely to have fractures (p < 0.001). Sixteen fasciotomy patients died in-hospital, with mortality influenced by systemic complications rather than limb management alone. Conclusions: Fasciotomy represented a substantial portion of the orthopedic workload in the first week following the earthquakes, with a front-loaded distribution, primarily involving procedures in the lower limb. These data emphasize the need for early staffing surge, instrument and dressing preparedness, structured wound-care pathways, and integration for crush syndrome.

Özet

Giriş: Depremler, akut kompartman sendromu (AKS) ile komplike olan yüksek oranda uzuv ezilme yaralanmalarına neden olur ve çok sayıda ölüme yol açar. Türkiye'de 2023 yılında meydana gelen depremlerin ardından, üçüncü basamak bir sevk merkezinde akut kompartman sendromu için yapılan fasyotomilerin zamanlamasını, anatomik dağılımını, eşlik eden prosedürleri ve kısa vadeli sonuçlarını karakterize etmeyi amaçladık. Yöntemler: Depremin ardından ilk hafta içinde Adana Şehir Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesinde retrospektif bir kohort çalışması yürüttük. Ekstremite ezilme yaralanması olan hastalar çalışmaya dahil edildi; şüpheli veya doğrulanmış AKS nedeniyle fasyotomi uygulanan hastalar fasyotomi kohortunu oluşturdu. Demografik, klinik, prosedürel ve mortalite verileri tıbbi kayıtlardan çıkarıldı. Karşılaştırmalı analizlerde yaş, zamanlama, kırık ilişkisi ve fasyotomi ile fasyotomi yapılmayan gruplar arasındaki eşlik eden prosedürler değerlendirildi. Bulgular: Ekstremite ezilme yaralanması olan 473 hastanın 327'sine (%69,1) fasyotomi uygulandı. Fasyotomiler ilk 48 saat içinde yoğunlaşmış ve çoğunlukla alt ekstremiteyi (%68,5), özellikle de krurisi etkilemiştir. Fasyotomi uygulanmayan hastalarla karşılaştırıldığında, fasyotomi uygulanan hasta grubu daha gençti (p < 0,001), depremden sonra daha erken ameliyat edildi (p < 0,001) ve kırık olma olasılığı daha düşüktü (p < 0,001). Fasyotomi uygulanan 16 hasta hastanede hayatını kaybetti; mortalite, sadece uzuv tedavisi değil, sistemik komplikasyonlardan da etkilendi. Sonuç: Fasyotomi, depremlerin ardından ilk hafta ortopedik iş yükünün önemli bir bölümünü oluşturdu ve öncelikle alt ekstremite prosedürlerini içeren, ön yüklemeli bir dağılım gösterdi. Bu veriler, erken personel artışı, alet ve pansuman hazırlığı, yapılandırılmış yara bakımı yolları ve ezilme sendromu için entegrasyon ihtiyacını vurgulamaktadır.

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Cite This Article

Gökmen, M. Y., Varmış, H. O. (2025). Fasciotomy for Earthquake-Related Extremity Crush Injury: Timing, Anatomic Localization, Co-procedures, and In-Hospital Mortality in a Single-Center Cohort. Eskisehir Medical Journal, Volume: 7 Issue: 1. https://doi.org/10.48176/esmj.2025.227

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