A Case Series of Delayed Laparoscopic Drainage of Haemoperitoneum in Blunt Liver Trauma

Background: Liver trauma is a leading cause of mortality in blunt abdomen trauma. Laparoscopy in blunt abdomen trauma has been described in the acute setting, however delayed laparoscopy as a tool of reevaluation of non operative management and drainage of haemoperitoneum in those with signs of inflammation, has not been widely evaluated. Materials and Methods: In this article, we retrospectively explore a series of 5 cases of blunt liver trauma presenting to our emergency department at CIVIL Hospital Ahmendabad, where delayed laparoscopic drainage was done. Results and Conclusions: Average of 1200 +/- 274 ml of haemoperitoneum was drained. Two out of 5 cases had bile staining of the drained collection. Mean operative duration was 40.8 +/- 7.6 mins. Post operative recovery was uneventful and all patients were doing well on review after two weeks. This throws light on delayed laparoscopic drainage being a safe and effective adjunct to non operative management of blunt liver trauma and avoids the trauma of emergency laparotomy.