Prevalence and Mechanisms of Small Intestinal Obstruction Following Laparoscopic Abdominal Surgery

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Abstract
ABDOMINAL laparoscopic surgery began in 1985,1 increased in usage,2,3 and became widespread by the 1990s. Smaller incisions, minute dissection, and experimental data4,5 have led one to expect that laparoscopic abdominal surgery would be associated with a low or nonexistent intestinal obstruction rate.6,7 However, intestinal obstruction complicating diagnostic gynecological laparoscopy has been recognized and reported as early as 1968.8 Short series of 1 to 4 cases of small-bowel obstruction after various kinds of laparoscopic abdominal surgery9-11 have been reported since 1992, but do not provide any hard data on the mechanisms and prevalence of postlaparoscopic instestinal obstruction. The goal of this study was to analyze data on 24 patients operated on for mechanical intestinal obstruction secondary to laparoscopic abdominal surgery.