Emergency War Surgery NATO Handbook: Part IV: Regional Wounds and Injuries: Chapter XXX: Reoperative Abdominal Surgery

Time of Reoperation

United States Department of Defense

The greatest number of reoperations for intra-abdominal complications are performed in the first three weeks, with a peak incidence from the fourth to the eighth day. This further serves to identify the timeframe during which the casualty should not be evacuated because frequent evaluation by experienced surgeons may not be available. If transfers are essential during this period, the transit time should be measured in hours rather than days. When a heavy casualty load makes early evacuation necessary, the least seriously injured patients should be selected rather than those with extensive intra-abdominal injury. This philosophy will allow for earlier diagnosis and treatment of those complications that are most likely to arise. The ideal status for evacuation of the patient with a postoperative abdominal wound is after he has become afebrile and alimentation has begun.

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Operational Medicine 2001

Health Care in Military Settings

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