Seat-belt hernia. A ventral hernia following an automobile crash

Abstract

THE USE of automobile seat belts has been shown to be effective in reducing mortality and severity of injuries sustained during automobile accidents, and has found increasing acceptance throughout the United States as well as other parts of the world. With the increase in use of automobile seat belts, one may anticipate finding a gradually increasing number of injuries attributable to the snubbing action of the seat belt itself. The case to be reported in this paper involves a young woman whose life was undoubtedly saved by a lap-type seat belt during a spectacular automobile accident. Approximately seven months later an unusual ventral hernia developed in the left upper quadrant of the abdomen, presumably caused by the snubbing action of the seat belt during the accident. This case is apparently unique, and possibly representative of a type of injury to be seen much more commonly in the future.

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