title: "Acute postoperative open abdominal wall": Nosological concept and treatment implications.
abstract: The so-called "burst abdomen" has been described for many years and is a well-known clinical condition, whereas the concept of the "open abdomen" is relatively new. In clinical practice, both nosological entities are characterized by a complex spectrum of symptoms apparently disconnected, which in many cases poses a great challenge for surgical repair. In order to assess the management of these disorders in a more comprehensive and integral fashion, the concept of "acute postoperative open abdominal wall" (acute POAW) is presented, which in turn can be divided into "intentional" or planned acute POAW and "unintentional" or unplanned POAW. The understanding of the acute POAW as a single clinical process not only allows a better optimization of the therapeutic approach in the surgical repair of abdominal wall-related disorders, but also the stratification and collection of data in different patient subsets, favoring a better knowledge of the wide spectrum of conditions involved in the surgical reconstruction of the abdominal wall.
authors.affiliation: Manuel López-Cano, Manuel Armengol-Carrasco, Abdominal Wall Surgery Unit, Department of General Surgery, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebrón, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08035 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: López-Cano
authors.affiliation: Manuel López-Cano, Manuel Armengol-Carrasco, Abdominal Wall Surgery Unit, Department of General Surgery, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebrón, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08035 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: José A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.affiliation: Manuel López-Cano, Manuel Armengol-Carrasco, Abdominal Wall Surgery Unit, Department of General Surgery, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebrón, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08035 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Armengol-Carrasco
keywords: Abdominal wall; Burst abdomen; Enteroatmospheric fistula; Evisceration; Incisional hernia; Mesh; Negative pressure wound therapy; Open abdomen