Objective: The purpose of this study is to describe a specific type of blunt traumatic mesenteric injury called a bucket-handle tear, review its varied CT appearances, and discuss the role of CT in its detection.
Conclusion: A bucket-handle mesenteric injury is a rare but life-threatening blunt traumatic injury that can be difficult to detect prospectively on CT and for which delays in diagnosis and definitive surgical management can result in poor outcomes.
Keywords: bowel injury; lumbar hernia; mesenteric injury; perforation; trauma.