FORTY-TWO OPERATED CASES OF HEPATIC INJURY

Abstract

From 1969 to June 1997, a series of 42 patients were operated on for hepatic injury in our institute. Of these 42 patients, nine patients died postoperatively were examined with the hepatic injury classification, operation methods and morbidity. These were four cases of type II, one case of type IIIa and four cases of type IIIb hepatic injury according to the hepatic injury classification of the Japanese Association for the Surgery of Trauma. All type II and Illa patients died of damages of other organs. Four out of nine patients of type IIIb died of bleeding from hepatic injury in three patients and MRSA sepsis in one patient. No hepatic resection was done in all dead cases of type IIIb. On the other hand, patients of type IIIb who underwent right hepatectomy (3 cases) and partial resection of posterior lobe (1 case) had uneventful postoperative course.
We suggest that hepatectomy is a useful procedure as a treatment of choice for severe hepatic injury.