Abdominal compartment syndrome

If patients have undergone surgical decompression, they will have ongoing requirements for local wound care. Dressings can be changed at the bedside in uncomplicated cases. Patients who required decompressive laparotomy and whose fascia could not be primarily closed will require surgical follow-up to determine the optimal means and timing of abdominal wall reconstruction.

ACS is an acute condition, and long-term monitoring is not necessary. Follow-up is, however, required if there was a primary underlying cause.

Many patients who require decompressive laparotomy develop a late ventral hernia requiring surgical correction. If raised intra-abdominal pressure can be reversed quickly, there is a window of approximately 7 to 10 days during which delayed fascial closure has a high success rate; if this window is missed, virtually all patients develop a hernia.