[Treatment of generalized peritonitis with fenestration of the abdominal cavity]

The authors suggest a new method for the treatment of generalized peritonitis. It is based on the use of a device of the authors' construction which allows the condition of the abdominal cavity to be visualized continuously and the cavity to be cleansed regularly with the aid of laparoscope. The method is called fenestration of the abdominal cavity. The authors had 395 patients with purulent peritonitis, 171 (43.3%) of them were treated by the semiopen method, 41 of these patients (10.4%) were subjected to fenestration of the abdominal cavity. The authors consider fenestration indicated in generalized peritonitis with signs of polyorganic insufficiency in the presence of a large amount of exudate and concurrent interintestinal, subdiaphragmatic, and pelvic abscesses or when there is a tendency towards their development. With the use of the device for fenestration the number of cleansing relaparotomies was reduced to minimum. Relaparotomy was conducted once in 35, twice in 4, and three times in 2 patients. In all patients the abdominal cavity was examined daily with a laparoscope, the exudate was aspired, and antibiotics were introduced. Phlegmon of the anterior abdominal wall was in early postoperative complication in 2 patients. Five (12.2%) patients died.