Introduction.

Colombia is a country that has had armed conflict as part of its history. For more than 50 years, different types of weapons have been used in internal warfare. From 1999 to 2010, more than 15,000 people injured in combat were treated at the Central Military Hospital, Bogotá, D.C., Colombia. The objective of this study was to describe the surgical approaches carried out for the treatment of injuries generated in military combat, by the General Surgery service at the Central Military Hospital, between 2016 and 2021.

Methods.

A cross-sectional descriptive observational study was conducted, where information was collected from the database of the Trauma group of the Central Military Hospital on patients with injuries during combat treated by the General Surgery service.

Results.

A total of 203 patients were admitted, 99% were male, 87% belonged to the Army. The department from which the most wounded were received was Arauca (20.7%). High-velocity firearms were the injury-related weapons in more than half of the cases. The most common surgical interventions performed were foreign body extraction (28%), vascular exploration (25.5%), and thoracostomy or thoracoscopy (20.6%).

Conclusion.

Surgical procedures for the management of military trauma continue to be varied with respect to location and approach, which is why the general surgeon’s knowledge must be extensive to be qualified for its management.

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