OR / Prep · Trauma & Acute Care Surgery · open
You’re scrubbing into
Trauma laparotomy & splenectomy
Why are we operating?
The bleeding abdomen, answered in a fixed sequence: pack everything, find the bleeder, and for the shattered spleen, take it out and vaccinate the patient later.
Indication: Haemodynamic instability with abdominal bleeding; splenic injury failing non-operative management.
The operation in 4 steps
01Rapid entry and four-quadrant packing
02Mobilising the spleen
03Controlling the hilum
04Haemostasis, drains, closure
Watch it done
Exploratory laparotomy and splenectomy for ruptured spleen after blunt trauma
A real trauma laparotomy: packing, finding the bleeding and taking the spleen.
Source: JOMI, Journal of Medical Insight · Watch on YouTube
Conceptual teaching for learners preparing to observe and assist under supervision, not operative instructions. Five minutes from now you should know why this operation exists, what its shape is, and which structures it is designed not to injure.