Gustilo-Anderson classification
Trauma and orthopaedics
Also known as: Gustilo-Anderson-Klassifikation (offene Frakturen) · Gustilo-Anderson sınıflaması (açık kırıklar) · Gustilo-Anderson classification (open fractures)
What it is for
Grades open fractures by wound size, contamination, soft-tissue damage and vascular injury. The final grade is set at surgical exploration and debridement, not in the emergency department.
Classification
| Category | Description |
|---|---|
| Type I | clean wound shorter than 1 cm, little soft-tissue damage, simple fracture pattern. |
| Type II | laceration longer than 1 cm without extensive soft-tissue damage, flaps or avulsion. |
| Type III | extensive soft-tissue damage, open segmental fracture or traumatic amputation; high-energy injuries, farmyard injuries and gunshot fractures count as type III whatever the wound size. |
| IIIA | adequate soft-tissue coverage of the bone despite extensive laceration or flaps. |
| IIIB | extensive soft-tissue loss with periosteal stripping and exposed bone, usually massive contamination; soft-tissue coverage of the bone is inadequate. |
| IIIC | open fracture with an arterial injury that needs repair. |
Source
Prevention of infection in the treatment of one thousand and twenty-five open fractures of long bones: retrospective and prospective analyses
J Bone Joint Surg Am 1976;58:453–458 (Gustilo RB, Anderson JT); type III subtypes: J Trauma 1984;24:742–746
PMID: 773941
- Edition
- Gustilo & Anderson 1976 (types I–III); type III subdivided into IIIA–IIIC by Gustilo, Mendoza & Williams 1984
- Checked on
Summary of the published classification in our own words. Not a substitute for the original publication.
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