Incidental Traumatic Liver Laceration Diagnosed at Caesarean Section in 37-Year-Old Patient at Kitwe Teaching Hospital in Zambia

Abstract

Trauma is leading cause of non-obstetric maternal and perinatal mortality and affects 7% of pregnancies worldwide. We present a 37-year-old pregnant woman, who had a World Society of Emergency Surgery (WSES) grade II or American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST) grade III liver injury with hemodynamic instability caused by blunt trauma to the abdomen, resulting in an incidental liver parenchymal laceration discovered only at Caesarian section five days later. Liver laceration was treated with perihepatic packing and definitive surgery was done by direct liver repair. We believe this is the first case to be reported in Zambia.