Abstract
Although damage control surgery (DCS) is a standard strategy for patients with severe abdominal trauma, this strategy is also extremely useful for patients with acute abdomen. Temporary abdominal closure is frequently performed in DCS, and in the present study, we preferentially selected vacuum packing closure (VPC) for temporary abdominal closure in DCS. VPC was performed in 23 patients with acute abdomen. The average Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation-II (APACHE-II) score was extremely high (APACHE-II=32.3) in the patients who underwent VPC for temporary abdominal closure in DCS. The abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS) did not develop in these patients, although only 1 patient developed intestinal perforation due to the packing pressure ; however, no other severe complications were observed. When it is difficult to close the abdominal wall in patients with acute abdomen, or when second-look operations are intended for emergency surgery of severe acute abdomen, VPC is an excellent method for temporary abdominal closure in these patients, just as in patients with trauma.
