Background: Abdominal muscle injuries after blunt trauma are rare but increasingly recognized. The overall incidence in all traumatic admissions is 0.2%–0.9%, which rises to 9.2% in patients who underwent abdominal/pelvis CT scan. The aim of this systematic review is to evaluate the incidence, type, management, and outcomes of abdominal wall injuries following blunt trauma. Methods: We performed a systematic review according to the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) statement to identify articles reporting abdominal wall injuries following blunt abdominal trauma. Only the papers focusing on abdominal wall injuries following abdominal trauma among the adult population were included. Preoperative variables and outcomes were analyzed. Results: A total of 49 papers of the 568 initially identified were included for analysis. This represented a total of 759 patients, with the majority of papers being retrospective case reports/series. No prospective studies were retrieved. According to the Dennis et al. classification of traumatic abdominal wall injuries, type V (151) was the most common traumatic abdominal wall hernia, followed by type IV (71), type III (20), and type VI (9). Acute repair was performed in 333 patients (43.9%). As a whole, the use of mesh to repair the abdominal wall defect was specified in 183 patients. A minimally invasive approach was reported in eight papers. Conclusion: Patients with traumatic blunt injury to the abdominal wall are rarely reported and often overlooked by both radiologists and trauma surgeons. Nowadays, complex abdominal wall reconstruction has become a specific topic of interest for dedicated surgeons. In light of the five pillars of acute care surgery, we believe that a modern trauma team should include surgeons specifically trained in abdominal wall reconstruction techniques.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/ia9.0000000000000069
Publish Year: 2025
