Open degloving injuries are severe soft-tissue traumas associated with ischemia, infection, and poor functional outcomes. Due to heterogeneous presentations, standardized management protocols remain limited. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 28 consecutive patients with open degloving injuries of the extremities treated at a Level II trauma center between 2020 and 2024. Demographics, injury characteristics, surgical interventions, and outcomes were analyzed using chi-square/Fisher’s exact tests and nonparametric methods. Median age was 49 years, and 57.1% were male. Motor vehicle accidents were the most common mechanism (40.7%), with 56.7% involving upper extremities. All but one patient underwent surgical management. Primary debridement was performed in 51.9%, serial debridement in 33.3%, and negative pressure wound therapy in 63.0%. Skin grafting (22.2%) and flap reconstruction (14.8%) were used for definitive closure. Complications occurred in 40.7%, most commonly necrosis (18.5%) and infection (11.1%). Median hospital stay was 7 days. Early multidisciplinary surgical management is associated with high limb salvage rates and acceptable complication profiles. Prospective multicenter studies are needed to establish standardized treatment algorithms.
Shurkhay et al. (Sat,) studied this question.