A 38-year-old north Indian man was brought to the emergency department of our hospital after suffering a head-on collision while driving his car. On examination, he was conscious, oriented, and, in severe pain. His vital signs were normal, except for tachycardia. There were no signs of head, chest, pelvic, or limb injury. A visible swelling was present in the umbilical and epigastric regions with overlying bruising of the skin (Figure ). On palpation, it was tender, firm, non-pulsatile, and non-reducible, but there was a slight increase in size over the next hour. The patient was triaged as a blunt trauma abdomen - a probable steering wheel injury, hemodynamically stable, with probable rectus hematoma. Expectant treatment was started and a computed tomography (CT) scan was performed. The CT scan (Figure ) revealed a supra-umbilical defect in the midline anterior abdominal wall (maximum diameter 5 cm), with herniation of bowel loops and mesentery through it, with extensive interstitial edema. There was also associated free fluid in the peritoneal cavity, and a minor splenic laceration. Anticipating strangulation of the bowel, the abdomen was explored through a midline incision. There were 2-3 loops of edematous jejunum and mesentery in the subcutaneous space, herniating from a full-thickness defect in the abdominal wall. There was also a mesenteric hematoma with loss of vitality of the corresponding jejunal segment (one foot). A resection-anastomosis was performed. No other solid organ injuries were seen. The defect was repaired with an interrupted monofilament polypropylene suture without tension. The patient's wound healed without complications and was discharged on the 6th day. He was asymptomatic, 1 month after the operation.
A 36-year-old male presented after a road traffic accident (RTA) with blunt abdomen injury and a right tibiofibular fracture. He has the pulse of 72/min and blood pressure (BP) of 112/70 mm Hg with a normal FAST exam. The patient was transferred to the orthopedic unit for further management but developed complaints of vomiting and constipation with abdominal distension over the next 3 days. Abdominal X-ray [] revealed multiple air fluid levels and a contrast CT with oral and intravenous (IV) contrast revealed an obstruction at the jejunoileal junction. A decision was taken to do a diagnostic laparoscopy on day 4 after injury, which was converted to open laparotomy due to findings of internal herniation of ileal loops through the transverse mesocolon. This herniated ileal loop had vascular compromise so it was resected, and an ileo-ileal end to end anastomosis was done. The postoperative period was uneventful, and the patient was discharged on postoperative day 7.