Aortocaval fistulas are most commonly the result of spontaneous rupture or erosion of an abdominal aortic aneurysm into the inferior vena cava (80-90%). The remaining 10-20% of aortocaval fistulas are usually the result of penetrating or iatrogenic trauma from gunshot or stab wounds. We report the case of a 19-year-old male, status post multiple gunshot wounds. To our knowledge, this is the fir...

The history of laparotomy for penetrating abdominal wounds is reviewed from its origins in the sixteenth century to the large series from World War II. It is shown that the mass casualties of World War I allowed the management of organ specific injuries to be studied. This review concentrates upon one of the most contentious topics in war surgery-the management of colonic wounds, and suggests t...

BACKGROUND US combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have resulted in a greater proportion of service members with head and neck wounds caused by explosions compared with that of previous wars. Although penetrating traumatic brain injury (TBI) is frequently associated with these wounds, the epidemiology of penetrating TBI from these conflicts has not been well described. METHODS The Joint ...

Introduction: Penetrating neck wounds are serious and often lifethreatening. In the absence of an adequate technical platform, their management is difficult. We report a case tracheal wound by suicide attempt in regional hospital Togo. Case Report: This was 43-year-old female patient, dealer, with no known pathological history, admitted for anterior cervical attempted knife. She presented sever...

Uncontrolled hemorrhage from isolated penetrating extremity wounds can result in 100% mortality, but significant controversy still surrounds tourniquet use in civilian prehospital care. It’s been proposed that 10% of combat deaths in the Vietnam War resulted from uncontrolled hemorrhage from extremity wounds; many of the deaths were due solely to ineffective field hemorrhage control methods.1 M...

Penetrating abdominal injuries have been traditionally managed by routine laparotomy. New understanding of trajectories, potential for organ injury, and correlation with advanced radiographic imaging has allowed a shift towards non-operative management of appropriate cases. Although a selective approach has been established for stab wounds, the management of abdominal gunshot wounds remains a m...

BACKGROUND Minimally invasive surgery has become increasingly utilized in the trauma setting. When properly applied, it offers several advantages, including reduced morbidity, lower rates of negative laparotomy, and shortened length of hospital stay. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of laparoscopy in the management of trauma patients with penetrating abdominal injuries. METH...

BACKGROUND Colon injuries are increasingly being treated safely by primary repair in spite of the high risk of septic complications. OBJECTIVE This is a retrospective study of the pattern, management and outcome in patients treated for penetrating colon injuries at Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu over a 7 year period (January 1995-December 2001). PATIENTS AND METHODS R...