Blunt injuries of the stomach.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the results of surgical treatment of patients with blunt injuries of the stomach.

DESIGN

Retrospective study.

SETTING

Two general hospitals, Greece.

SUBJECTS

10 patients operated on for blunt trauma to the stomach during a 10 year period.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Hospital mortality and morbidity.

RESULTS

All patients were victims of motor vehicle accidents and presented with clinical signs warranting early laparotomy. There were 6 full-thickness, and 2 partial thickness gastric injuries located in the anterior wall. All injuries could be managed with simple surgical techniques without resections. Two patients bled to death on the operating table from associated injuries. All but one of the survivors had postoperative complications with a mean (SD) duration of hospital stay of 18(8) days (range 10-30).

CONCLUSIONS

Blunt gastric injury is usually diagnosed at laparotomy for associated injuries but may occasionally be suspected from specific clinical findings. In most cases the injury is on the anterior wall. Simple repair is usually sufficient and the prognosis depends on the severity of the associated injuries.