• Laura Godat, Leslie Kobayashi, Todd Costantini, and Raul Coimbra.
• Division of Trauma, Surgical Critical Care, and Burns, University of California, San Diego, 200 West Arbor Dr,, #8896, San Diego CA 92103-8896, United States of America. rcoimbra@ucsd.edu.
• World J Emerg Surg. 2013 Dec 17; 8 (1): 53.

AbstractDamage control laparotomy was first described by Dr. Harlan Stone in 1983 when he suggested that patients with severe trauma should have their primary procedures abbreviated when coagulopathy was encountered. He recommended temporizing patients with abdominal packing and temporary closure to allow restoration of normal physiology prior to returning to the operating room for definitive repair. The term damage control in the trauma setting was coined by Rotondo et al., in 1993. Studies in subsequent years have validated this technique by demonstrating decreased mortality and immediate post-operative complications. The indications for damage control laparotomy have evolved to encompass abdominal compartment syndrome, abdominal sepsis, vascular and acute care surgery cases. The perioperative critical care provided to these patients, including sedation, paralysis, nutrition, and fluid management strategies may improve closure rates and recovery. In the rare cases of inability to primarily close the abdomen, there are a number of reconstructive strategies that may be used in the acute and chronic phases of abdominal closure.

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