Postoperative ileus negatively impacts patient outcomes and healthcare utilization, increasing both postoperative length of stay and health care costs. In efforts to optimize perioperative care, efforts have been placed into developing tools to minimize postoperative ileus. Alvimopan (Entereg®) was developed to meet this need. Alvimopan has permitted accelerated return of bowel function after a...

Phytobezoars constitute conglomerates of indigested plant fibers and are a rare cause acute mechanical ileus. They exhibit an increased prevalence in the elderly population people with specific predisposing conditions. Radiological imaging can often set definitive diagnosis dictate optimal therapeutic approach, combined patient’s clinical status. An 81-year-old male presented deteriorating symp...

Adult intussusception usually presents with nonspecific symptoms such as abdominal pain, bloating, nausea, vomiting, and a change in bowel habits. Although postoperative intussusception has been described in the pediatric population, there has been little description of it in the adult population. Postoperative intussusception has unique challenges, as hydrostatic reduction may compromise bowel...

Meconium ileus equivalent is one of the lesser known manifestations of cystic fibrosis, and occurs most often in older patients. With the improved overall survival of patients with cystic fibrosis, one would expect to see this condition more often in the future. Of 53 patients attending our cystic fibrosis clinic for adolescents and adults, eight had experienced a total of 25 episodes of meconi...

Gallstone ileus is an uncommon cause of small bowel obstruction which occurs in patients with chronic cholecystitis and gallstones who develop a cholecystoenteric fistula. Although gallstone ileus is relatively rare, it has a substantial mortality rate due in part to patient comorbidities and delays in treatment. We describe the case of a 94-year-old woman who presented with nausea, vomiting, m...

Paralytic ileus is type of functional obstruction caused by the lack of intestinal peristalsis without any mechanical obstruction. This interference of the flow of intestinal contents often leads to intestinal obstruction. Paralytic ileus may be classified into postoperative, inflammatory, metabolic, neurogenic, and drug-induced (1). The incidence of paralytic ileus is high especially after abd...