title: Renal trauma found during laparotomy for intra-abdominal injury.
abstract: Whether renal injury found during a laparotomy for intra-abdominal injury should have surgical or nonsurgical management is controversial. Five hundred twenty-one renal injuries were found during laparotomy for such injury in 513 patients. Blunt external trauma was the cause in 88%. A modified operating room table enabled performance of immediate intravenous pyelogram during the laparotomy. More severe degrees of renal injury (laceration, rupture, pedicle injury) were present in 135 (26%) of the renal injuries. Immediate surgical management of 102 more severe renal injuries resulted in nephrectomies in 37 (36%), delayed renal surgery in one (0.9%), and renal salvage in five of 18 (27%) main renal artery and/or vein injuries. Nonsurgical management of the remaining 23 resulted in nephrectomies in three (13%), delayed renal surgery in six (26%), total renal loss in seven of seven (100%) main renal artery injuries and an overall nephrectomy/total renal loss rate of 39%. With immediate surgical management of the more severe degrees of renal injury there was a slight increase in the salvage of kidneys and a marked decrease in delayed renal surgery and morbidity.
mesh_terms: D000007:Abdominal Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006417:Hematuria / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000293:injuries* / Q000601:surgery; D007813:Laparotomy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy