Stab wounds of the abdomen. Observe or explore?
J. R. Wilder and A. Kudchadkar
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.
