A Clinical Study of Surgical Management of Acute Intestinal Obstruction

Background and Objectives: Bowel obstruction remains one of the most common intra-abdominal problems faced by general surgeons in their practice, whether caused by hernia, neoplasm, adhesions or related to biochemical disturbances. Intestinal obstruction of either the small or large bowel continues to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality. The objectives are to study the various modes of presentation, various causes, importance of early recognition, diagnosis and management. Influence of various factors like age, sex, diet and socio-economic status in the pathogenesis of acute intestinal obstruction. Morbidity and mortality rates in acute intestinal obstruction. Materials and Methods: The materials for the clinical study of intestinal obstruction were collected from cases admitted to various surgical wards. Fifty cases of intestinal obstruction have been studied. Patients belonged to the age groups ranging from 12 years to 85 years, paediatric age group is excluded from this study. The criteria for selection of cases was based on clinical history, physical findings, radiological and haematological investigations. The study was divided into Clinical study, Investigations and Treatment. Postoperative follow up after the discharge of patients was done in majority of the patients upto six months. The results are tabulated stressing on following points age, sex, symptoms, examination findings, investigations, abnormalities, probable causative factors, operative findings and operative procedure adopted and complications if any. Results: The study group consisted of 50 cases of acute intestinal obstruction in the adult age group from 12 years on wards to 85 years. The common age group was 31-40 and 51-60 age group with 20% each in the total study. The commonest cause of intestinal obstruction in the adults in this study series was postoperative Adhesions (40%) followed by obstructed Hernia (30%). Conclusion: Success in the treatment of acute intestinal obstruction depends largely upon early diagnosis, skillful management and treating the pathological effects of the obstruction just as much as the cause itself.