Gunshot wounds

Abstract

Gunshot wounds to the face and neck region represent devastating injuries. Complex and oftentimes massive soft tissue injuries accompany extensive underlying bone damage making reconstruction in this setting a great challenge. A thorough understanding of ballistics, kinetic energy transfer to tissues and their response to that energy, the complex and intricate three-dimensional anatomy of the region, and long-term effects of the scar and healing process is necessary for proper management of these injuries. Advances in both imaging techniques and reconstructive procedures have greatly improved our capacity and ability to reconstruct these wounds.