[Sub-phrenic abscess: 28 cases, one death (author's transl)].

28 patients were operated on for subphrenic abscess, one patient died. The author emphasises the disadvantages of excessive antibiotics. The diagnosis should be made early in order to avoid severe infective complications. The diagnosis is not difficult. It is nowadays facilitated by echotomography and scannography, which permit one to localise precisely the collection of pus and to detect multiple abscesses. The incision should carefully avoid crossing the peritoneal or pleural cavities. The quality and the permanence of the drainage are the key to success. One should therefore leave in position numerous aspiration drains. One should generally abstain from any suture or digestive anastomosis. It is sufficient to direct the digestive fistula, when present, towards the skin surface. But the best policy is to avoid this operative complication the origin of which is almost always a mistake in the design or installation of the drain at the end of various operations on the abdomen.