Graded trauma in liver injury.

Although the overall mortality from liver injuries has steadily decreased since 1942, blunt trauma to the liver still has a mortality of 70 per cent and a morbidity of at least 25 per cent. In a series of experiments utilizing human livers and intact animals, blunt liver trauma was produced and the changes studied with angiography and cholangiography. The prime importance of universal and adequate drainage was illustrated. It is suggested from these studies that cholangiography and subsequent drainage of the extrahepatic biliary tree may be useful diagnostic and therapeutic adjuncts in the management of extensive liver injuries.