THE CAUSES OF UNNECESSARY LAPAROTOMIES IN ABDOMINAL TRAUMA PATIENTS

Abstract

Unnecessary laparotomies in trauma patients are an important cause of morbidity and are still performed in all centers. The most Important factor that Increases the rate of unnecessary laparotomies is the erroneous operative indication. The aim of this study was to determine the rate of unnecessary laparotomies and to find out the cause of this error. During the period of 1976-1996, 433 trauma patients that were performed laparotomy were evaluated retrospectively. Unnecessary laparotomy rate was found to be 24.1% and the most frequent laparotomy indications that cause unnecessary laparotomy were the penetrating abdominal trauma and the presence of acute abdominal signs. Current efforts to reduce the incidence of these unnecessary procedures without increasing that of missed injuries are obviously worthwhile.