Acute Intestinal Obstruction from Post Operative Adhesions in a Tertiary Health Facility, South-South, Nigeria: A one year prospective study

Post operative adhesion is the commonest cause of intestinal obstruction in the developed world whereas obstructed/strangulated external hernias are the commonest in tropical Africa. Open abdominal or pelvic surgery is often associated with this condition. Laparoscopic surgery is said to reduce the incidence of this condition, probably because there is less tissue handling compared to open surgery. Though the initial management of adhesive bowel obstruction is conservative, surgery remains an inevitable option in some cases.The aim of this study was to see the prevalence of post adhesive acute bowel obstruction amongst causes of acute abdomen in the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital within the study period.This was a one year prospective study done in this centre. All adult patients who presented with acute intestinal obstruction to the emergency unit of the hospital were included in the study. A total of 46 patients presented with acute intestinal obstruction during the study period. Eleven (23.9%) of this number had post operative adhesions as a cause of the obstruction and it was commoner in females than males with a ratio of almost 2:1. Acute appendicitis was the commonest surgery associated with this condition (45.5%).