Emergency abdominal re-exploration in a district general hospital

A series of 3600 consecutive patients undergoing laparotomy was studied prospectively. Fifty six patients required a total of 64 urgent re-explorations of the abdomen during the period of hospitalisation after the first operation. The re-exploration rate was 1.7%. Re-laparotomy was most often necessary in the elderly and following gastroduodenal or intestinal operations. The indication for re-operation must in part reflect the nature of surgical practice but in this general surgical unit the most common complications requiring re-laparotomy were sepsis, small bowel obstruction and wound dehiscence. Biliary operations were relatively uncomplicated. Mortality rose with age. Diagnosis depends upon the ability to distinguish the clinical symptoms and signs of developing complication from the clinical features inevitable following abdominal surgery. We believe that the decision to re-operate and the second operation should normally be undertaken by experienced surgical staff.