Hepatic trauma: contemporary management.

In the introduction, I posed several questions that were issues/controversies. The answers will probably be interpreted as equally controversial. I do not believe there is strong evidence that the incidence of liver injuries has increased. Diagnostic modalities have contributed to this seeming increase, as well as population increases and the concentration of severe liver injuries in trauma centers, now present in 35 states. I believe there are more blunt injuries now, relative to penetrating injuries. The peak of penetrating injuries occurred in the 1970s and 1980s and lasted almost 2 decades. I believe some authors are overly enthusiastic for nonoperative management. I am particularly critical of authors who do not include all components of the surgical armamentarium into their treatment of severe liver injuries. I also believe that the complications following nonoperative management are currently unacceptable, as documented in the references. I have shared with you the strategies for operative management, but there are equally good or better strategies in the surgical literature.