title: [Management of hepatic trauma: four years experience].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The liver is the second most damaged organ in abdominal trauma. The purpose of this article is to present the experience of our regional reference hospital and summarise the management of these types of injury over the last four years.
  
  
  METHODS
  An observational, descriptive and retrospective study was performed on patients with hepatic trauma admitted to our Department from January 2006 to March 2010. The clinical variables collected were: age, sex, aetiology, injury type, presence of haemodynamic stability and peritonism, type of treatment, and complications.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study included 17 patients, with a mean age of 25.3 years, and 12 of them were male. Ten patients received non-surgical treatment. Of those who received surgical treatment, packing was performed on 3, with one of them requiring a hemi-hepatectomy in a second operation. There were complications in 4 patients, 2 surgical and 2 non-surgical.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The most important criterion for the choice of non-surgical treatment is haemodynamic stability. The most recommended surgical technique for the rapid control of liver bleeding is compression packing, achieving stabilisation and to transfer the patient to a hospital with experience in hepatic surgery.
authors: Servicio de Cirugía Pediátrica, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Badajoz, Servicio Extremeño de Salud, España. rayusov@telefonica.net
authors: Rafael Ayuso
authors: RA
authors: Velasco
authors: Francisco Botello
authors: FB
authors: Martínez
authors: Gerardo Blanco
authors: GB
authors: Fernández
authors: Guillermo Solórzano
authors: GS
authors: Peck
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000293:injuries* / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult