Abdominal Wall Evisceration Coupled With Iliac Vascular Injury After Blunt Trauma

Abdominal evisceration after blunt trauma is uncommon and rarely survivable when coupled with a concomitant iliac vascular injury. Blunt abdominal injury is rarely a cause of abdominal evisceration but may, on occasion, present in patients affected by a unique or high-energy traumatic injury. In these instances, major vascular injury is exceedingly rare but is associated with a high mortality rate. Damage to important vessels that may present more subtly, such as iliac arterial injury, can still be lethal and are important to evaluate in the trauma workup for blunt evisceration. We report the case of a 20-year-old woman who survived an abdominal wall and vascular injury in a motor vehicle accident. Management of this unusual association is discussed.