Damage control surgery and the abdomen at the dawn of the 21st century

Damage control is not a modern concept, but the application of this approach is the result of the constantly raising need to care for patients sustaining multiple high-energy injuries.A Medline search was performed to locate English language articles relating to damage control procedures in trauma patients. The retrieved articles were manually cross-referenced, and additional academic and historical articles were identified.Damage control surgery, sometimes known as «damage limitation surgery» or «abbreviated laparotomy», is best defined as creating a stable anatomical environment to prevent the patient from progressing to an unsalvageable metabolic state. Patients are more likely to die from metabolic failure (hypothermia, metabolic acidosis and coagulopathy) than from failure to complete organ repairs. Is damage control surgery going to have the decaying luck of truncal vagotomy and gastrectomy in the treatment of peptic ulcer disease, for example? Probably yes, since it won’t be long before thorough knowledge of the pathophysiology of the trauma patient will result in the development of effective procoagulants, safe rewarming techniques and successful circulatory assis