The American surgeon
-
The American surgeon · Mar 1984
Case ReportsManagement of penetrating hepatic injury. A review of 102 consecutive patients.
The records of 102 consecutively treated patients with penetrating hepatic injuries from 1972 through 1982 were reviewed. Fifty-five patients (54%) sustained gunshot wounds and 47 (46%) sustained knife wounds. The mean age was 29 years (range 3-71); 83 per cent were men. ⋯ Mortality was 2.9 per cent and all three deaths were secondary to bleeding from severe liver and associated vascular injuries. The low incidence of hepatic resection and mortality in this series of patients is attributed to the conservative management of liver injuries, adequate drainage, the use of a tamponade technique with multiple Penrose drains for through-and-through liver injuries and the expeditious repair of the vascular injuries. This paper includes a detailed description of the tamponade technique.