title: Endoscopic decompression of acute colonic obstruction. Avoiding staged surgery.
abstract: Colostomy is the traditional treatment for acute obstruction of the sigmoid colon. This entails two or three surgical procedures in a high-risk group of patients. Presented is a nonsurgical approach used in three patients with acute colonic obstruction. Decompression of the bowel was achieved with a tube introduced proximal to the obstruction with the aid of a flexible sigmoidoscope. In a fourth patient, in whom the obstruction was next to the splenic flecture, the procedure failed. In all instances where decompression was successful, a one-stage procedure--primary resection and anastomosis--was performed.
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000368:Aged; D003108:Colonic Diseases / Q000628:therapy*; D003113:Colonoscopy; D003125:Colostomy / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007415:Intestinal Obstruction / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012811:Sigmoid Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery; D012812:Sigmoidoscopy / Q000379:methods