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Ileus and Gastrointestinal Complications

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Abstract

Postoperative ileus (POI) is a normal, physiologic response of the gastrointestinal tract in the postoperative patient. However, when prolonged, it is a cause of significant patient morbidity, protracted hospital course, and increased healthcare costs. Prolonged POI is a known complication of spinal fusion and orthopedic surgery in general and occurs in part as a result of normal physiology but is also exacerbated by postoperative opioid use. There is an increasing body of literature on the subject of POI in this patient population; however, to date, there has been only one published study examining the incidence of and risk factors for POI following XLIF, and there is much to be learned about the factors that predispose patients undergoing spinal surgery to develop pathologic ileus. The management of POI in the postoperative patient undergoing spinal surgery is multifactorial and focuses on preventive measures and patient optimization, use of selective opioid antagonists, and utilization of alternative pain control methods to limit systemic opioids.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hospital for Special Surgery/Weill-Cornell Medical Center, New York, NY, 10021, USA

    Evan D. Sheha & Grant D. Shifflett

  2. Hospital for Special Surgery, Spinal Surgery Clinic, New York, NY, USA

    Russel C. Huang

Authors
  1. Evan D. Sheha
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  2. Grant D. Shifflett
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  3. Russel C. Huang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Russel C. Huang .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Miami Neurological Surgery, Miami, Florida, USA

    Michael Y. Wang

  2. Spine Surgery, Weill Cornell Medical Center Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, New York, USA

    Andrew A. Sama

  3. Dept. of Neurosurgery, University of South Florida Tampa General Hospital, Tampa, Florida, USA

    Juan S. Uribe

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Sheha, E.D., Shifflett, G.D., Huang, R.C. (2017). Ileus and Gastrointestinal Complications. In: Wang, M., Sama, A., Uribe, J. (eds) Lateral Access Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28320-3_35

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28320-3_35

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