This study is based on thirty-two patients with proved subphrenic abscesses seen between 1961 and 1971. The anatomy, changing patterns of etiology, and present concepts in therapy are outlined based on this experience. In spite of advances in diagnostic technics, a high degree of clinical suspicion is the most useful means of making an early diagnosis. The value of surgical drainage is emphasized, and the transserous and extraserous routes are discussed. The mortality in surgically treated patients in this series was 17 per cent, whereas in those in whom no drainage was instituted, the mortality was 100 per cent.
Pertinent radiologic and surgical literature regarding abscess drainage was reviewed. Noted is the heterogeneity of disorders categorized as abscesses, and the variety of therapeutic approaches presently available. Specific abscesses are discussed based on body location and/or associated organ system.
We prove that groups acting geometrically on delta-quasiconvex spaces contain no essential Baumslag-Solitar quotients as subgroups. This implies that they are translation discrete, meaning that the translation numbers of their nontorsion elements are bounded away from zero.