Open pelviperineal trauma.

The authors present their results in the management of 48 patients with complex pelviperineal injuries treated at the Surgical Emergency Ward of the University of São Paulo School of Medicine General Hospital. The distinct factors influencing the morbidity and mortality rates are discussed as well as the importance of an aggressive treatment in the initial approach of these patients. The following steps are virtually essential for the achievement of results comparable to those presented in the present protocol: exhaustive irrigation of the perineal wound with saline solution followed by surgical debridement and removal of all devitalized areas, maintenance of the wound open, early maturation transverse colostomy with total fecal flow diversion, periodic surgical revisions at intervals of 24 to 72 hours, large doses of antibiotic therapy, nutritional support with full parenteral feeding, and appropriate management of bone injuries and skin grafts. Adopting of measures proposed in this protocol yielded a decrease in mortality rate from 70% to 31.5%.