Ultrasound guided percutaneous drainage of abdominal abscesses.

OBJECTIVE: To see yield of ultrasound guided percutaneous drainage of abdominal abscesses.

SETTING: Department of General Surgery Unit I, Lahore General Hospital and North Surgical Unit, Mayo Hospital, Lahore.

DESIGN: A prospective case-controlled study.

SUBJECTS: Patients with spontaneous or post operative abdominal abscesses.

RESULTS: Overall success rate was 96.2%, major complications 11.5%, minor complications 26.9% and mortality 3.8%. In simple abscesses (20 patients), the success rate was 100% and in complex abscesses (six patients) 83.4%, with respective mortality 0.0% and 16.6%. Mean hospital stay was 10.7 days (range 3-25).

CONCLUSION: Ultrasound guided percutaneous drainage of abdominal abscesses is an effective and safe method, suited particularly for simple abscesses.