Initially described to manage severe trauma patients, open abdomen technics spread widely and are now considered even for non-trauma patients. Open abdomen decreases the risk of abdominal compartment syndrome, facilitates a second surgical look, improves the abdominal drainage, but could jeopardize the abdominal closure. Much has been done to increase the knowledge regarding surgical and medical management of open abdomen, several surgical society proposed guidelines, and a registry was created. However, there is no standard of care, and management remains a challenge for surgical teams, and for the patients.

JAWS is pleased to announce a call for papers on this special topic: open abdomen. We aim to focus on recent changes regarding per-operative et peri-operative management, tips and tricks to help achieving final closure, and prevent or manage associated complications, related to an open abdomen.

Orignal Research, Review, and Case Reports are welcome. We particually encourage the submission of videos as part of the Supplementary Material of manuscripts.

Suggested topics considered related to open abdomen include:

- Open abdomen for trauma and non-trauma patients
- Current registry and what they could changed
- Adjunct to help facial closure: botulin toxin, progressive closure
- Management of entero-atmospheric fistula
- Peri-operative management: Peritoneal resuscitation,
- Long term impact on abdominal wall: hernia, abdominal wall function
- Long term psychological impact for patients, family, and nurses

Fee Support
As a Gold open-access journal, all submissions are subject to publishing fees. If you require support for Article Processing Charges (APC) a limited number of waivers are available, to apply please complete our Fee Support Application form. JAWS’ authors can also benefit from financial support from their institution through Frontiers' Institutional Agreements. For full details please see the journals Publishing Fees page. Any questions? Please contact the Editorial Office.

Article types and fees

This Special Issue accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Special Issue description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Commentary
• Editorial
• Letter to the Editor
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Review

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Special Issue accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Special Issue description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Commentary
• Editorial
• Letter to the Editor
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Review

Keywords: open abdomen, laparotomy, resuscitation, guideline, recommendations