TITLE:
Musculoskeletal wounds characteristic of the Second Lebanon War
AUTHORS:
Haim Cohen, Viviane Slon, Hila May, Israel Hershkovitz, Eli Peled, Doron Norman
KEYWORDS:
Second Lebanon War; Musculoskeletal Injuries; IDF; Casualties; Combat
JOURNAL NAME:
Forensic Medicine and Anatomy Research,
Vol.1 No.2,
April
18,
2013
ABSTRACT: The Second Lebanon War between Hezbollah and Israel broke out on July 12, 2006, and lasted until August 14, 2006. Out of the wounded Israeli soldiers, 128 were treated at the orthopedic departments of the Rambam Medical Center, Haifa, Israel. Aretrospective study was carried out on these 128 combatants. The objective of the study was to characterize musculoskeletal combat wounds with regard to age, type, location, mechanism, side and intensity. The average age of an injured soldier was 25.7 years. Most injuries (63.9%) were caused by shrapnel. The prevalence of injury to the lower limb was much higher compared with upper limb (43.4% vs. 28.3%). There was no side preference. A considerable number of soldiers had more than one injury (60%). The majority of wounds that occurred in the Second Lebanon War were orthopedic-related, particularly involving the upper and lower extremities. Fragmenting weapons were responsible for most injuries.