How to Define the Level of Intestinal Resection in Complicated Forms of Intestinal Obstruction in Children

Abstract

Introduction. The bowel (intestinal) obstruction is a very common case in pediatric surgical practice. Intestinal transit disorders in children are caused by organic or functional problems of congenital origin or by acquired pathology. The incidence of intestinal obstruction is steadily increasing. This is due to an increasing number of cases with congenital gastrointestinal tract malformations as well as to an increasing number and volume of surgical intestinal interventions. Materials and methods. 76 patients, aged 0 months - 14 years, with various forms of intestinal obstruction were taken into the study. All patients were divided into 2 groups. The control group had 30 patients who were treated in medical facilities of the first level; the studied group included 46 patients who were operated in our clinic. In patients from the studied group, the viability of intestine and the level of resection were defined using the original technique “ Detection of the area of local necrosis and the level of intestine resection in children with intestinal obstruction “ , patent No 2 690744, Russian Federation, developed on the basis of another patent No 2 594 978 of Russian Federation “A technique for modeling local intestinal wall necrosis in the experiment.” The technique is as follows: While performing electrical stimulation of the intestinal wall with neurostimulator HNS 12, one can see a characteristic funnel-shaped depression indicating intestinal necrosis. The level of resection is determined by moving the electrode from the central part of the studied zone to distal and proximal directions until the circular contraction of the intestine appears. Results. This technique prevented relaparotomies, reduced transfer to enteral feeding by 33%, reduced the incidence of prolonged intestinal paresis by 62.5%, reduced patients’ stay in ICU by 41% and postoperative hospital stay by 24% as well as accelerated rehabilitation process by 27.3%. Conclusion. The technique developed for detecting the area of local necrosis and the level of intestinal resection promotes a most careful resection of the affected area of the intestine till healthy tissues, as well as prevents complications requiring surgical correction.