Review Article- The omentum: A unique organ of exceptional versatility

In the past, the omentum was considered to be an inert tissue without much biological significance. But since the beginning of the last century, innumerable studies and trials have been conducted by surgeons and scientists all over the world, which have proven that the omentum is a unique, physiologically dynamic tissue with immense therapeutic potential. We have undertaken the present review to provide a concise account of the variety of applications of the omentum in the various disciplines of surgical practice. An extensive search was carried out on the internet for indexed publications in the English literature using the keywords "omentum, omentoplasty and surgical uses of omentum." The search revealed about 86 publications. All those publications were systematically reviewed and analyzed. The inferences derived from those publications are methodically summarized. The omentum is indeed an organ of exceptional versatility. This review presented by us will enable the readers to appreciate the fact that, clearly the omentum was placed in the abdomen for a reason.