TRAUMATISMES FERMES DU FOIE

Eighty six patients with blunt liver trauma were recorded in the Ibn Sina hospital between 1985 and 1998. The average age was 32 years, with the 20 to 40 age group being the most affected. The most characteristic clinical presentation was hemoperitoneum with shock. Seventy one patients inderwent surgery (65 in emergency and 16 secondary), while 15 patients benefited from non operative treatment due to their stable hemodynamic state. Exploration of lesions revealed 35 grade I and grade II, 36 grade III and 15 grade IV and V lesions. The operation was a simple suture in 27 cases, selective ligature of hepatic artery in 2 cases, 8 packing and 23 tamponades, while in 4 cases the treatment was a resection. The bleeding could not be controlled in 4 cases. Peri-operative mortality was 18 % and morbidity was mainly made up of parietal sepsis. In our pratice, blunt liver trauma is frequent and treatment should be conservative.