The recognition of previous abdominal surgery by computed tomography

Knowledge regarding previous surgery is important when reporting abdominopelvic CT. We have examined 50 consecutive patients undergoing abdominopelvic CT to establish whether careful scrutiny of the images can reliably reveal evidence of previous surgery. The radiologist performing the CT study inspected the patient's abdomen for scars and established their nature by discussion with the patient. A second radiologist, unaware of the patient's clinical details, reviewed the CT images and predicted whether there had been any previous surgery. These predictions proved inaccurate: Only 51% of scars were recognised at this initial assessment (63% following retrospective review). Although the absence of major organs was reliably reported, even large paramedian scars were missed. Old scars were missed more frequently than recent ones. Accurate details of previous surgery are necessary when interpreting abdominopelvic CT.