Article Text
Summary
Traumatic abdominal wall hernia (TAWH) is a rare type of hernia occurring secondary to blunt trauma. We report a case of seatbelt-associated TAWH in a 20-year-old woman who was presented to hospital via ambulance following a road traffic collision with a distended abdomen, peritonitis and free gas, with an associated TAWH identified on CT imaging. The patient underwent delayed surgical repair of her hernia using biological mesh, without recurrence, with a clinical course complicated by pregnancy. We use this report to demonstrate late repair as a safe and effective option for management of TAWH in pregnancy, with active surveillance and a multidisciplinary approach by the obstetric, plastic surgery and trauma teams.
- plastic and reconstructive surgery
- trauma
- obstetrics, gynaecology and fertility
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Footnotes
Contributors SM is the foundation year 1 doctor. PH is the core surgical trainee. NC is the consultant plastic and reconstructive surgeon. All authors contributed to the planning and reporting of this case report. SM and PH led equally in the construction of case summaries and literature review, including the obtaining and review of the patient’s clinical notes and imaging, while NC supervised the project, contributing operative details and comments/suggestions for improvement.
Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Competing interests None declared.
Patient consent Obtained.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.