Stab wounds of the abdomen. Observe or explore?

This article reviews our experience with 403 cases of stab wounds of the abdomen, with emphasis on our policy of selective management. Forty-six percent (187) of the patients were operated on immediately because of clinical findings. Fifty-four percent (216 patients) were treated conservatively after initial evaluation, and only 4% (16 patients) required subsequent surgical intervention, with no mortalities. The overall morbidity was 9.2%, with a 1.6% mortality in the operative group. With more than 20 years of experience in the management of stab wounds, we found the selective approach to be safe and reliable.