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Related Experiment Videos

Damage-control laparotomy.

John C Lee1, Andrew B Peitzman

  • 1Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, UPMC-Presbyterian, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA. peitzmanab@upmc.edu

Current Opinion in Critical Care
|July 1, 2006
PubMed
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Damage-control laparotomy, an abbreviated surgical approach, controls bleeding and contamination in trauma patients. This method improves survival by addressing hypothermia, acidosis, and coagulopathy before definitive surgery.

Area of Science:

  • Trauma Surgery
  • Surgical Critical Care

Background:

  • Damage-control laparotomy (DCL) is a surgical technique involving deliberately abbreviated laparotomy.
  • It has been widely applied in trauma surgery over the past two decades.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review current concepts and practices of damage-control laparotomy.
  • To discuss its application in trauma and general surgery patients.

Main Methods:

  • Review of current literature and practices in damage-control laparotomy.
  • Analysis of patient subsets benefiting from this approach.

Main Results:

  • DCL effectively controls surgical bleeding and gastrointestinal contamination.
  • Patients undergo definitive surgery only after correction of the lethal triad (hypothermia, metabolic acidosis, coagulopathy).

Related Experiment Videos

  • Recent studies have identified specific patient groups who benefit most from DCL.

    • Conclusions:

    • Damage-control laparotomy has significantly improved survivorship in critically injured trauma patients.
    • The approach helps break the pathophysiologic cycle of hypothermia, coagulopathy, and acidosis.
    • The concept of abbreviated laparotomy is being explored in general surgery, suggesting broader potential applications.