Faisal Bilal Lodhi, Tariq Farooq, Iftikhar, Riaz Hussain.
Laparostomy and abdominal content containment.
Professional Med J Jan ;11(2):106-10.

Background: Alternatives to fascial closure of the abdominal wall are increasingly used in critically ill patients. They pose practical and logistical problems in management of seriously ill patients. Objectives: (1) To define the role of laparostomy in intra abdominal sepsis. (2) To highlight the importance of economical method of temporary abdominal content containment using plastic bag. Setting: Surgical Unit III Allied Hospital/PMC Faisalabad Period: March 2003 to February 2004, Methods: Thirteen patient, 08 male and 05 female patients underwent temporary abdominal content containment (t-ACC) following Emergency laparotomies. Indications for t-ACC were severe sepsis requiring reoperation, abdominal wall tissue loss or a combination of these. Results: Three patients underwent early definitive abdominal closure within 15 days. Eight patients had a protracted, hospital stay (mean 26 days). Two patients died (on 10th and 17th post-op day) due to MODS. Conclusion: Plastic bags are cheaper and an effective as polyglactin mesh and other methods of t-ACC. Survivors require a multidisciplinary approach in management, undergo a protracted hospital stay and later need complex incisional hernia repairs.

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