Management of blunt hepatic and splenic trauma in children.

Trauma is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in children. With blunt abdominal trauma, the most commonly injured organs are the liver and the spleen. The management of blunt hepatic and splenic injuries has evolved over the past three decades from an emergency operation to a non-operative approach. The non-operative management of splenic injuries in children became acceptable because of the significant incidence and seriousness of postsplenectomy sepsis, and the frequent complications associated with non-therapeutic laparotomies.