Closed abdominal trauma in a child causing avulsion of the common bile duct and gastric stasis

Injury
|January 1, 1985
PubMed

Insights

Blunt abdominal trauma can cause rare injuries like complete common bile duct transection and gastric stasis. Surgical intervention restored bile flow and gastric emptying, suggesting a traumatic vagotomy.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric surgery
  • Trauma surgery
  • Gastroenterology

Background:

  • Blunt abdominal trauma is a significant cause of pediatric injury.
  • Common bile duct injuries are rare complications of abdominal trauma.
  • Gastric stasis following trauma is not well-documented.

Observation:

  • An 8-year-old boy sustained complete transection of the supraduodenal common bile duct due to closed abdominal trauma.
  • The patient also experienced significant gastric stasis, leading to failure of gastric emptying.

Findings:

  • Surgical management successfully re-established biliary-enteric continuity.
  • Gastric drainage was performed to address the gastric stasis.
  • A traumatic vagotomy is postulated as the cause of gastric emptying failure.

Implications:

  • This case highlights a previously unreported complication of blunt abdominal injury.
  • It underscores the importance of considering vagal nerve injury in traumatic gastric stasis.
  • Management strategies involve both biliary reconstruction and gastric decompression.

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