Stab Wounds of the Abdomen

This article reviews our experience with 403 cases of stab wounds of the abdomen, with emphasis on our policy of selective management. Forty-six percent (187) of the patients were operated on immediately because of clinical findings. Fifty-four percent (216 patients) were treated conservatively after initial evaluation, and only 4% (16 patients) required subsequent surgical intervention, with no mortalities. The overall morbidity was 9.2%, with a 1.6% mortality in the operative group. With more than 20 years of experience in the management of stab wounds, we found the selective approach to be safe and reliable.