Perihepatic packing is a surgical procedure used in connection with

trauma surgery Trauma surgery is a surgical specialty that utilizes both operative and non-operative management to treat traumatic injuries, typically in an acute setting. Trauma surgeons generally complete residency training in general surgery and often f ...

to the

liver The liver is a major metabolic organ (anatomy), organ exclusively found in vertebrates, which performs many essential biological Function (biology), functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the Protein biosynthesis, synthesis of var ...

. In this procedure the liver is packed to stop non

arterial An artery () is a blood vessel in humans and most other animals that takes oxygenated blood away from the heart in the systemic circulation to one or more parts of the body. Exceptions that carry deoxygenated blood are the pulmonary arteries in ...

bleeding, most often caused by liver injury. During this surgery laparotomy pads are placed around the bleeding liver. The main purpose of hepatic packing is to prevent the bleeding so

trauma triad of death The trauma triad of death is a medical term describing the combination of hypothermia, acidosis, and coagulopathy. This combination is commonly seen in patients who have sustained severe traumatic injuries and results in a significant rise in th ...

can be avoided. Under- or over-packing of the liver can cause adverse outcomes, and if the bleeding cannot be controlled through this surgical method, the

Pringle manoeuvre The Pringle manoeuvre is a surgical technique used in some abdominal operations and in liver trauma. The hepatoduodenal ligament is clamped either with a surgical tool called a haemostat, an umbilical tape or by hand. This limits blood inflow t ...

is an alternate technique that can be utilized temporally.

References

Surgical procedures and techniques {{surgery-stub