Intraabdominal challenges affecting abdominal wall reconstruction.
Abdominal wall defects may arise from trauma, infection, and prior abdominal surgeries, such as tumor resections. Although ideally reconstruction should be accomplished as soon as possible to restore the integrity and function of the abdominal wall, it is not always a viable option. A successful reconstruction must take into consideration the local environment of the defect, as well as the global condition of the patient. Therefore, it is imperative that a multidisciplinary team be involved to optimize the patient's care, particularly when a defect is complicated by a wound infection, an abscess, a fistula, or a neoplasm. Our goal in this article is to explore the challenges evoked by each of these special situations, and review the necessary steps for successful management.
Division of Surgical Oncology, Michael E.DeBakey Department of Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine; and General Surgery, Houston, Texas.
Jennifer Movassaghi
JM
Moffett
Uri
U
Gedalia
Amy Shengnan
AS
Xue
Lior
L
Heller
abdominal wall reconstruction; enterocutaneous fistula; fistula; vesicocutaneous fistula