Management of Liver Trauma in Minia University Hospital, Egypt

The aim of this study is to present the outcome of operative and non-operative management of patients with liver injury treated in a single institution depending on imaging. This study was conducted at the Causality Unit of Minia University Hospital, and included 60 patients with hepatic trauma from March 2012 to January 2013. In our study, males represent 80 % while females represent 20 % of the traumatized patients. The peak age for trauma found was 11-30 years. Blunt trauma is the most common cause of liver injury as it was the cause in 48 patients (80 %). Firearm injuries are the most common cause of penetrating trauma (60 %) followed by stab injuries (40 %). More than one half of our patients (34 out of 60) were treated with non-operative management (NOM) with a high success rate. The operative procedures done were suture hepatorrhaphy (20 cases), non-anatomical resection in one case, anatomical resection in one case, and damage control therapy using pads in two cases. In another two cases, nothing was done as subcapsular hematoma had resolved. Minia University Hospital is a big tertiary Hospital in Egypt at which blunt liver trauma is more common than penetrating liver trauma. Surgery is no longer the only option available. It has been reserved for extensive lesions with condition of hemodynamic instability or for the treatment of the complications. NOM is an effective treatment modality in most cases.