MANAGEMENT The history and physical examination give a very good indication of the presence of significant visceral injury. Initially, management should include simultaneous evaluation and treatment, and begins with ABC’s.1 The key factor in deciding the immediate management of a case of penetrating abdominal trauma is the patient’s haemodynamic stability.1 Regardless of injury type, if the pat...

UNRECOGNISED ABDOMINAL trauma is one of the main causes of preventable death in severely injured patients throughout the world (American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma (ACSCT) 2012). About one fifth of all major trauma fatalities involve trauma to organs in the abdominal cavity (Brooks et al 2004) and blunt abdominal trauma is the third most common problem encountered in trauma patient...

BACKGROUND Penetrating aortic trauma remains one of the most challenging injuries with a high mortality rate if left untreated, or if the surgical treatment is delayed. We present an uncommon case of a late diagnosed abdominal firearm injury, in which the bullet partially penetrated the wall of the aorta, creating a plug that prevented immediate death due to massive bleeding. CASE PRESENTATIO...

Bowel entrapment within a pelvic injury is rare and difficult to diagnose. Usually, it is diagnosed late because of concomitant abdominal injuries. It may present itself as an acute intestinal obstruction or, more commonly, as a prolonged or intermittent ileus. Therefore, one should be aware of this late complication and primarily take measures for avoiding bowel entrapment. This report describ...

Though uncommon, femoral nerve palsies are potentially devastating injuries which can occur as a result of penetrating trauma or malignancies, however the most common cause is inadvertent iatrogenic injury following intra abdominal surgery such as gynaecological/vascular surgery or total hip replacement [1]. We present a case of iatrogenic femoral nerve injury with a delayed presentation result...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate factors that are predictive of delayed abdominal closure in patients injured during military conflict. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS Seventy-one patients managed with an open abdomen were identified from records at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center from 2005 and 2006. Follow-up data were available from Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Records were reviewed through all ec...

We present our experience over five and a half years of acquired hernias of the diaphragm. Each case represents a different presentation of this condition, which may follow blunt or penetrating trauma or iatrogenic injury. Diaphragmatic hernia may present in the acute phase after injury but late presentation may occur after many years, with chronic abdominal or respiratory symptoms, or with acu...

Objective: One of the most frequent causes of death and acquired disability in the pediatric population is the Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). TBI is secondary to falls, road traffic and vehicle collisions, child abuse and assaults. Penetrating brain injury is a severe form of traumatic brain injury. Blunt head injury is more frequent than TBI in children, but the second one carries a poor progno...

Dear Sir, The association of penetrating umbilical injury through an umbilical hernia is worthy of note; because though this hernia is a frequent pathology of the anterior abdominal wall in children,[1] such injury is rarely reported. Due to the inherent fascial defect in umbilical hernia, trivial injuries directed against it could lead to breach of the skin and peritoneum with evisceration of ...