[Computed tomographic exploration of eventrations].

With physical examination alone it is difficult or even impossible to evaluate the abdominal wall damage in patients with major evisceration, especially when they are obese. Computerized tomography (CT) is very useful in this respect as it provides a detailed anatomical overview of the lesions. CT was performed in 30 out of 229 patients operated upon. It supplied information on the size, site and extension of eviscerations and showed whether they were single or multiple; it also informed on the quality, thickness and retraction of the abdominal muscles. All this is extremely important to know before surgery as it enables the operative problems to be foreseen and, to some extent, the operative procedure to be determined. In all cases of complex evisceration CT may be regarded as the "key examination".