Slovenská chirurgia 2/2022

Small bowel obstruction: etiopathogenesis and operative treatment in our group of patients

Small intestine is defined as marvel of effectivity and complexity. Absorption and digestion are main functions but small intestine is also the largest endocrine organ and play significant role as a part of immune system. One of the most common disorder of small intestine is obstruction which danger patients health and life. Incidence is 2-8% from all acute abdominal conditions. Peritoneal adhesions are most common cause of small intestine obstruction and incidence is about 60%. Morbidity and mortality have been decreasing in last decades, but adequate management remains still challenge for specialist. Main symptoms of small bowel obstruction are nausea, vomiting, stoppage of flatus and feces and abdominal pain. Pain is dominant in a case of strangulation. Emergency surgical procedure is treatment of choice in many causes. 51% of all urgent laparotomies in UK were performed because small bowel obstruction. Here patients treated for small bowel obstruction in years 2018 and 2019 on 2nd clinic of surgery L. Pasteur University hospital and Pavol Jozef Šafárik University, Medical faculty are presented. Observative, descriptive, retrospective method was used. 66 patients underwent surgery for small bowel obstruction in this time interval. Main cause of obstruction was peritoneal adhesions in 51%. Mortality was 9% and the highest mortality was observed in patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis and mesaraic thrombosis.

Keywords: small bowel obstruction, ileus, adhesions