title: Analysis of the videolaparoscopy potentiality in the surgical treatment of the bowel obstruction.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Laparotomy is the gold standard treatment of patients with intestinal obstruction without response to clinical management. Nowadays, literature has been demonstrating the feasibility of videolaparoscopy in the treatment of intestinal obstruction.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To report the clinical-epidemiological profile of patients with intestinal obstruction submitted to surgery and verify the presence of contraindications for laparoscopy.
  
  
  METHODS
  It was done a observational, descriptive and retrospective study including adults patients with intestinal obstruction submitted to surgery at Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil, between January of 2004 and October of 2008.
  
  
  RESULTS
  It was included 135 patients in the study, with a total of 126 patients submitted to open surgery and 9 to laparoscopy. There was similar distribution between gender and the mean age was 59 years (SD +/- 16.9). The most frequent site of obstruction was the small bowel and the most frequent etiology was adhesions. Among the patients submitted to laparotomy, 75.4% presented with abdominal distention, 68.3% previous abdominal surgery, 11.9% body mass index >30 kg/m(2), 4.8% coagulopathy and 3.2% hemodynamic instability. Among the 135 patients, only 5 of them presented with none contraindications for videolaparoscopy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The epidemiological findings of this study are similar to the ones of the worldwide literature. Indications of videolaparoscopy in retrospective analyses have the limitation of subjective evaluation of intestinal obstruction, which was included in this study as a relative contraindication to laparoscopy.
authors: Surgical Sciences Graduation Program, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. tlghezzi@terra.com.br
authors: Tiago Leal
authors: TL
authors: Ghezzi
authors: Laura
authors: L
authors: Moschetti
authors: Oly Campos
authors: OC
authors: Corleta
authors: Gabriela Pilau de
authors: GP
authors: Abreu
authors: Laís Pilau de
authors: LP
authors: Abreu
mesh_terms: D000075202:Contraindications; D004638:Emergency Treatment; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007415:Intestinal Obstruction / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D007813:Laparotomy; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012086:Reoperation; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D020535:Video-Assisted Surgery