Hepatectomy During the Pandemic, a Curative Treatment in High-Grade and/or Hemodynamically Unstable Blunt Liver Trauma

The liver is among the most affected organs in the case of abdominal trauma. In the last decades there have been significant changes in therapeutic protocols, non-operative management is now the first intention in most cases due to good results offered previously. In high-grade or hemodynamically unstable injuries, hepatectomy is the best approach, even though this was viewed with skepticism in the past, technical advances in medicine have proven otherwise. This article presents a case report of a 29-year-old man with blunt abdominal trauma, who initially underwent conservative atypical right hepatectomy without a favourable outcome, later he was transferred to a liver transplant center where he underwent a controlled right hepatectomy, all this in a new epidemiological context, the COVID-19 Pandemic. We want to present the hypothesis that in making a therapeutic decision, the hemodynamic status of the patient must be considered equally along with the injury degree. This case represents an opportunity to review the role of liver resection in the management of complex liver injuries.