An official website of the United States government
Here’s how you know
Official websites use .gov A
.gov website belongs to an official government
organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A
lock (
) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to
the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official,
secure websites.
Often it is difficult to determine if an intra-abdominal injury has occurred in a blunt trauma victim. In many cases, the decision about when to perform an exploratory laparotomy surgery is not straightforward. One procedure used to determine whether blunt trauma victims require surgery is diagnostic peritoneal lavage (DPL). DPL helps determine whether an intra-abdominal injury exists and whether surgery is required. Using local anesthesia, the surgeon makes a small incision in the abdomen just below the umbilicus.
Review Date 1/30/2025
Updated by: Jenifer K. Lehrer, MD, Gastroenterologist, Philadelphia, PA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.
