title: Surgical management of malignant bowel obstruction.
abstract: MBO is a common but difficult problem for surgeons caring for cancer patients. Nonsurgical interventions should be considered in all patients with MBO, especially inpatients with limited survival or for whom surgery will have little effect on disease control. Although there is no algorithm for all patients with MBO, decision-making is based on reasonable expectations of survival and treatment-related success. Surgical options can be helpful in the setting of MBO as long as reasonable goals and realistic outcomes are clear.
authors.affiliation: Genral Surgery Section, Southern Arizona Veterans Affairs Health Care System, and Department of Surgery, University of Arizona, Tucson, USA. robert.krouse@med.va.gov
authors.forename: Robert S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Krouse
mesh_terms: D013505:Digestive System Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods; D004724:Endoscopy / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005770:Gastrointestinal Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007415:Intestinal Obstruction / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality* / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D019060:Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods / Q000401:mortality; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000379:methods*; D011788:Quality of Life; D018570:Risk Assessment; D016019:Survival Analysis; D019452:Terminally Ill