title: [Postoperative obstructions].
abstract: The intestinal obstructions after a laparotomy in adult may be caused by an inflammatory or a mechanic pathology; the incidence of the bowel obstruction in the early postoperative period is about 0.5 to 2% of all surgical procedures; these obstructions are often related to the degree of contamination or infection; contrary to postoperative paralytic ileus, they result in a reoperation, so as a peritonitis may be associated. In the later postoperative period intestinal obstructions may be caused by adhesions, internal strangulation or fibrosis bridles; these obstructions are frequent and they affect especially the small intestine (5% of laparotomies will be complicated by small bowel obstruction). The intestine volvulus due to bridles or adhesions is observed in approximately 10% of cases and the diagnosis must be conjured up in principle because it necessities an operation immediately; it's the same for the strangulation by incarceration. The absence of classic indicators of gangrene permits a non-operative treatment using a naso-gastric tube decompression during 24 to 48 hours: generally the causes of obstruction are small bowel adhesions, nevertheless it's important to eliminate a colonic obstruction. The management of chronic postoperative adherences is a difficult problem because the iterative operations increase the risk of intestinal obstructions; the video-laparoscopic surgery seems to be a promising technique to prevent and to treat (laparoscopic adhesiolysis) the post-operative adherences; its results are not evaluated.
authors.affiliation: Service de chirurgie F.X. Bichat, CHU Augustin-Morvan, Brest.
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Charles
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Bail
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007415:Intestinal Obstruction / Q000145:classification / Q000209:etiology*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000145:classification
vernacular_title: Occulsions postopératoires.