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Anti-personnel Landmine Injuries during Peace: Experience in a European Country

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 June 2012

Stamatios A. Papadakis ,
Eleni C. Babourda ,
Thomas C. Mitsitskas ,
Sotirios Markakidis ,
Costas Bachtis ,
Dimitrios Koukouvis  and
Apostolos A. Tentes
Stamatios A. Papadakis*
Affiliation:
Orthopedic Department, General Hospital of Didimoticho, Greece
Eleni C. Babourda
Affiliation:
Orthopedic Department, General Hospital of Didimoticho, Greece
Thomas C. Mitsitskas
Affiliation:
Orthopedic Department, General Hospital of Didimoticho, Greece
Sotirios Markakidis
Affiliation:
Surgery Department, General Hospital of Didimoticho, Greece
Costas Bachtis
Affiliation:
National System for Emergency Care, Athens, Greece
Dimitrios Koukouvis
Affiliation:
496 Military Hospital, Didimoticho, Greece
Apostolos A. Tentes
Affiliation:
Surgery Department, General Hospital of Didimoticho, Greece
*
Stamatios A. Papadakis, MD, PhD 28th Octovriou Str, 54 15236 N. Pendeli, Greece E-mail: snapmd@in.gr
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Abstract

Introduction:

The purpose of this study is to report the incidence of landmine injuries during peacetime in a European country.

Methods:

Forty victims of landmine explosions were admitted to Didimoticho General Hospital in Greece, from December 1988 to March 2003. A total of 19 people survived (47.5%) these events; all of the others were dead upon admission to the hospital. All of the victims were men, either suspected smugglers or migrants entering the country illegally, with an aver- age of 30 years (range: 15–56 years).

Results:

Most victims presented in groups, with multiple traumatic injuries, including lower extremity wounds. The mortality rate in the minefield prior to hospital admission was 52.5%, and the amputation rate for the survivors was 37%. There were no deaths of the patients admitted to the hospital.

Conclusions:

Landmines cause highenergy injuries with high mortality and amputation rates. Illegal migrants are the main victims of landmine explosions in Greece.

Keywords

amputationantipersonnel landmine injuriesillegal migrantsminefieldspeacetimevictims
Type
Original Research
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 21 , Issue 4 , August 2006 , pp. 237 - 240
Copyright
Copyright © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2006

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