Introduction Penetrating injuries to the heart and great vessels result in significant prehospital mortality (50% to 75% for cardiac wounds), so the numbers of patients undergoing operations for such injuries are small even in the busiest civilian centers or wartime…
After blunt or penetrating abdominal trauma, the major sites of hemorrhage are the viscera, mesentery, and major abdominal vessels ( Figs. 1–3 ). “Abdominal vascular injury” refers to injury to major intraperitoneal and retroperitoneal vessels and is classified into four…
The abdominal cavity and the retroperitoneum lie immediately adjacent to one another, separated by a peritoneal lining. Some organs, such as the small bowel and the colon, have portions that lay within both the abdominal cavity and the retroperitoneum. Vascular…