Surgical management of traumatic injuries of the right colon. Twenty years of civilian experience.

Three hundred seven patients with right colon injuries were treated at Parkland Memorial Hospital, Dallas, between 1953 and 1973. These injuries were managed with loop colostomies, suture and cecostomy, primary repair, right colectomy, diverting colostomy, and appendectomy or cecostomy alone. The indications and results of each type of repair are analyzed separately. The mortality (3.21%), morbidity (22%), and hospital stay were not related to the modality of treatment, but were influenced by the injuring agent. Adequate treatment of civilian right colon injuries implies careful individualization to avoid serious septic complications and subsequent mortality.