[Erroneous laparotomies in emergency surgery]

The retrospective analysis of case histories of 28 patients subjected to erroneous laparotomies in 1988-1992 has been done. The total number of patients, who had urgent abdominal operations for this period of time, was 5115. Atypical clinical course of the disease, improper diagnosis and interpretation of the disease symptoms, senile age of the patient are major causes of the erroneous laparotomies. To avoid erroneous laparotomy laparoscopy and ultrasound examination of abdominal cavity should be used widely, other medical specialists (urologist, gynaecologist) should be involved in diagnosis, especially in senile patients.