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Bowel Obstruction in Obese Patients

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Emergency Surgery in Obese Patients

Part of the book series: Updates in Surgery ((UPDATESSURG))

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Abstract

Bowel obstruction is one of the most frequent emergencies in general surgery, commonly affecting obese patients. There are obstructions of small bowel and of the large bowel. Small bowel obstructions (SBO) are more frequent than large bowel obstructions (LBO). Abdominal adhesions, which can begin forming within a few hours after an operation, represent the most common cause of intestinal obstruction, being responsible for 60–70% of SBO. The absence of passage of flatus and/or feces and vomiting are the most common presenting symptoms, along with abdominal discomfort/distention. Some obese patients present only tachycardia (surgical pulse) as a sign. A conservative medical attitude is privileged even if it is associated with a high rate of recurrences, while surgery is applied to cases showing no improvement after 48–72 h. Laparoscopy has taken the place of traditional laparotomy as an elective treatment for obese patients.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, Surgery, and Dentistry, Scuola Medica Salernitana, University of Salerno, Salerno, Italy

    Vincenzo Pilone

  2. General, Bariatric, and Emergency Surgery Unit, Gaetano Fucito Hospital, Mercato San Severino, Salerno, Italy

    Mafalda Romano

Authors
  1. Vincenzo Pilone
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  2. Mafalda Romano
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Correspondence to Vincenzo Pilone .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Sciences Luigi Sacco, University of Milan, Milan, Italy

    Diego Foschi

  2. Department of Human Pathology of Adult and Evolutive Age, University of Messina, Messina, Italy

    Giuseppe Navarra

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Pilone, V., Romano, M. (2020). Bowel Obstruction in Obese Patients. In: Foschi, D., Navarra, G. (eds) Emergency Surgery in Obese Patients. Updates in Surgery. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-17305-0_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-17305-0_10

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-17304-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-17305-0

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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