Liver injury is common in abdominal trauma, especially in children due to less mature body development. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Conservative treatment with close monitoring is now preferred over surgery.
Liver injury is one of the most common types of trauma to the abdominal area. Because the liver has several functions in the digestive process, such an injury can result in death, hemorrhage, or damage to other organs. Rib injuries often result in liver damage, and children are particularly susceptible to such situations due to less mature body development.
While there are many signs and symptoms of liver injury, such as nausea, detection is more likely to result in a hospital visit after receiving blunt trauma, such as a car accident or act of violence. Surgical treatment has often been deemed obsolete for those suffering from liver injury.
The liver sits above the gallbladder and is protected by the rib cage. It works as a blood filter in the digestive tract and detoxifies the body after the consumption of drugs, alcohol and all other toxins or chemicals. Working with the pancreas, gallbladder, and intestines, the liver also aids in the processing of foods and liquids. Because of its need in many different bodily functions, liver damage can be potentially life threatening, if not fatal.
Most deaths from abdominal trauma are associated with liver damage. As the largest solid organ in the abdomen, the liver is one of the most commonly damaged organs. It is also the most common organ damaged by penetrating force, such as blunt force trauma from bullets or knives. Car accidents also account for a large percentage of liver damage.
Because of its proximity to the rib cage, the right lobe of the liver is more commonly injured than the left. Because children’s ribs are more flexible than adults’ ribs, children are at an especially high risk of liver damage in conjunction with rib bending or shifting. A child’s liver is also not fully developed, which makes the trauma potentially more severe.
Some of the early signs and symptoms of liver damage include nausea, vomiting, and sharp pain in the abdomen. Physical damage to the liver itself includes bile duct injury, bruising, or lacerations. Severe bleeding is among the most serious risks of liver damage, as it can lead to sepsis, other types of organ failure, or even death. In most cases, liver injuries are the result of blunt trauma, making them less likely to go unnoticed.
Conservative treatment of liver injury is often conducted with close monitoring of the trauma site. This can be done through imaging techniques such as computed tomography (CT). Surgery was once common in the treatment of liver injuries, but less invasive techniques have proven effective since the late 20th century. Surgical analysis concluded that most of the time liver hemorrhage stops before surgery in surviving patients. Additionally, studies have found that other abdominal complications were more common in those who received surgical treatment than in those who received conservative treatment.
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