A 9-year-old boy was brought in by ambulance to the Children's Hospital at Westmead following a motor vehicle accident. He was an improperly restrained, back seat passenger. He presented complaining of abdominal pain. On arrival, he was hemodynamically stable, with a Glasgow Coma Scale of 15. A seatbelt sign was identified across his lower abdomen. There was a tender fullness in the left flank, but it was difficult to decipher a clear mass or defect due to his high body mass index (>30). There was a laceration over his forehead extending to the hairline. The remainder of the examination was unremarkable.\nThe plain abdominal radiograph showed an unusual gas shadow in the left lower quadrant. A focused abdominal sonography for trauma was positive with free fluid in Morrison's pouch and the rectovesical pouch. The diagnosis of TAWH was made by abdominal computed tomography (CT), which revealed a large left lower lateral abdominal wall muscle defect, spanning 120 mm anteroposteriorly and 70 mm craniocaudally []. Small bowel, mesentery, and a small portion of the distal transverse colon were herniating through the defect, with associated fat stranding in the mesenteric root. Free fluid in the left subphrenic and hepatorenal space was identified.\nAn emergency trauma laparotomy was performed. He required resection of a segment of ischemic sigmoid bowel with primary anastomosis and repair of jejunal serosal tear and a large jejunal mesenteric defect. The large abdominal wall defect was closed in layers with PDS and a permacol patch secured to reinforce the defect.\nHis postoperative course was complicated by persistent fevers. An abdominal ultrasound revealed a 48 mL cutaneous collection in the left flank. Incision and drainage of the collection occurred on postoperative day 12. Intraoperatively, fecal material was identified in the left flank collection, and we proceeded to laparotomy. It was identified on laparotomy that necrosis of the psoas muscle had led to a posterior abdominal wall breakdown and herniation of the sigmoid colon anastomosis which subsequently leaked. The anastomosis was revised and the hernia repaired. He subsequently required incision, drainage, and washout of anterior and posterior wall collections 4 days later. His postoperative course was slow, and he was discharged home 33 days after the trauma. At a 4-month follow-up appointment, he was recovering well with no evidence of recurrence.
A 45-year-old male laborer was admitted in emergency department with complaints of pain abdomen and constipation. There was history of fall from a height on to a blunt object. Two days back, the patient was febrile and had tachypnoea and tachycardia. His blood pressure was in normal range. There was abrasion and bruise over the skin, along with surgical emphysema on right lumbar region. On abdominal examination, tenderness and guarding were elicitable in the right lumbar region. Blood tests were normal. USG of the abdomen revealed free fluid in the perihepatic region. Chest X-ray revealed gas under both domes of diaphragm.\nCECT of the abdomen showed a defect in the abdominal wall with herniation of small bowel loops []. Rest of the abdominal organs were normal. The abdomen was explored through a midline incision. There was a rent in the right rectus muscle with peritoneal disruption of approximately 8 cm in length. The ileal loops were herniating through the peritoneal defect. A solitary perforation of 2 cm in size was identified approximately 50 cm proximal to ileocaecal junction. Minimal peritoneal contamination was present. Loop illeostomy was done in left iliac fossa with repair of right lumbar defect in layers over a drain. Postoperative period was uneventful. Restoration of bowel continuity was done after 3 months. Patient is doing well in follow-up.