Traumatic abdominal hernia

Traumatic abdominal hernias are rare, but are easily missed in patients with multiple injuries in whom life-threatening injuries take precedence. A case is reported in which difficulty was experienced with closure of the abdominal wall; at re-exploration a diagnosis of abdominal hernia was made, and a tear in the retroperitoneum with herniation of 2 feet of small bowel on the right side of the abdomen found. The hernia was reduced and the patient's recovery was uneventful. In all cases of celiotomy for trauma, complete exploration of the abdomen should be performed before closure to assure normal anatomic relationships of all structures.