Özgür Fırat, Özer Makay, Barış Gürcü, Murat Sözbilen, Gökhan İçöz, Sinan Ersin, Hasan Kaplan

Ege Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Hastanesi, Genel Cerrahi AD, İZMİR

Abstract

Purpose: In this study we aimed to investigate the safety and effectivity of diagnostic laparoscopy (DL) as an alternative to traditional exploratory laparotomy.

Materials and Methods: A total of 104 patients with penetrating abdominal trauma admitted to our department between July 2001 and September 2005 were retrospectively analyzed.

Results: Exploratory laparotomy was performed in 85 patients with the results of negative in 3 patients and non-therapeutic in 7 patients. Diagnostic laparoscopy was performed in 11 patients and peritoneal penetration was detected in 6. Two patients were converted to laparotomy due to visceral injury. No missed injuries or laparoscopy related complications were detected during follow up. Age, sex, mechanism of injury and injury severity scores were not statistically significant between the groups of diagnostic laparoscopy and unnecessary laparotomy (p>0,05). The mean length of stay was significantly lower in DL group (p<0,05).

Conclusion: Diagnostic laparoscopy in penetrating abdominal traumas is a safe method with high accuracy and can diminish the length of stays in hospital by preventing unnecessary laparotomies.

Keywords: Penetrating abdominal trauma, diagnostic laparoscopy, trauma