Small Bowel Surgery

Small intestine:
Surgery on the small intestine is one of the most frequently done procedures in our surgical practice which include Small Bowel Obstruction Surgery and Small Bowel Resection Surgery.
The most common conditions leading on to small intestine surgery include:

• Tuberculosis of the intestine:

Small intestine is one of the common sites of tuberculosis in India. The small intestinal involvement is in the region of distal small bowel and proximal colon called ‘ileo-caecal tuberculosis’ This condition usually presents with progressive obstruction to the lumen of the bowel leading on to constipation and diarrhea. This requires surgical treatment in the form of limited resection of the ileo-caecal region.

• Small bowel perforation

Typhoid ulcers leading onto perforation and peritonitis requiring emergency laparotomy and closure of perforation is not uncommon in our practice. This is an absolute emergency and should be tackled right away without delay.

• Bleeding from the small bowel

Small bowel bleeding is uncommon and is difficult to diagnose. Often labeled as ‘obscure GI bleeding’ it can be slow chronic ooze or massive bleeding all of a sudden. This entity will require a variety of investigations like capsule endoscopy; enteroscopy and a nuclear scan to exactly localize the site of bleed which then has to be removed surgically.

• Crohn’s Disease

Yet another condition of the small intestine seen more often these days than before, usually seen in young individuals with chronic diarrhea and weight loss. There are specific investigations available now to diagnose this condition with accuracy. Most of these patients will require long-term medical treatment. Some of them develop bowel obstruction, internal fistulae requiring repeated operations.

• Tumor

Tumors of the small bowel are either adenocarcinoma or lymphoma presenting with bleeding and or obstruction. These need to be excised with a wide margin. Gastro-intestinal stromal tumors are seen quite often in the small intestine requiring excising a segment of the involved bowel.

• Gangrene

Sudden occlusion of the blood supply to the small intestine leading on to gangrene of the small bowel causes severe abdominal pain and distension. This requires urgent accurate diagnosis and surgical removal of the damaged intestine.

• Obstruction – incarceration in a hernia and trauma to the intestine are some of the other common conditions requiring surgery on the small intestine.