Gastroenterological Medicine: Intestinal Obstruction (ileus)

• • Disease in which intestinal contents is clogged.
• • Grouped in Machine intestinal obstruction and Functional intestinal obstruction
• • Complex intestinal obstruction: emergency surgery is necessary.

Disease in which intestinal contents is clogged.

Intestinal Obstruction is a disease, the status in which gut tract content is clogged with various reasons so that it becomes unable to move to anal side. Symptoms are, abdominal pain, nausea, bloated belly resulted gas or slops are unable to be expelled. As to gastric pain, there is a case with or without having severe pain.

Grouped in Machine intestinal obstruction and Functional intestinal obstruction

In intestinal obstruction, there is a machine intestinal obstruction in which intestinal contents is physically unable to go through, and functional intestinal obstruction in which intestinal contents cannot go through due to the disorder of blood flow in gut tract, or nerve. Machine intestinal obstruction is then grouped to Simple intestinal obstruction where blood flow in guts tract is not get worse, and complex (strangulating) intestinal obstruction in which blood flow of guts tract is getting worse.

Simple Intestinal Obstruction

In most of the simple intestinal obstruction, mainly the small intestine will become obstructed due to adhesive intestinal obstruction by the adhesion of gut tract after surgery. Obstruction at large intestine or colon may occur by the cause of bowel cancer, or constipation. Symptoms are; intermittent abdominal pains, vomiting, ceased of bowel motion or gas exhaust, or abdominal bloating.

Complex Intestinal Obstruction

Complex Intestinal Obstruction means the strangulating intestinal obstruction in which blood flow is getting worse with twisted gut tract. Because of twisted gut tract, sudden severe abdominal pain comes up and sometime go into shock. As gut tract become necrotic as time goes by, emergency treatment is inevitable.

Functional Intestinal Obstruction is grouped into two categories, one is paralytic intestinal obstruction in which gut tract movement is getting worse, and spastic intestinal obstruction which gut tract become spastic.

Paralytic Intestinal Obstruction

Gut Tract movement becomes paralyzed by nerve disorder due to abdominal surgery or inflammation of peritoneum

Spastic Intestinal Obstruction

Intestinal contents movement disorder occurs when part of gut tract goes into spasm by intoxication.

Complex intestinal obstruction: emergency surgery is necessary.

Intestinal Obstruction is diagnosed in abdominal exam, abdominal X-Ray, Abdominal CT Test, and treatment may vary depend on the grouped results.
For simple intestinal obstruction or functional intestinal obstruction, conservative medical management is generally applied. In conservative medical management, while course of injections treatment for dehydration or electrolyte abnormality is conducting, keep the gut tract in quiet with abstinence of food and drink. When necessary, dosing of antibacterial agent, or intestinal contents aspiration or depressurization with inserting tube from nose. However, if the response to the treatment is insufficient, surgical operation may conduct.
On the other hand, in complex intestinal obstruction, gut tract will become necrotic as time passes, emergency surgery will be applied. In the surgery, twisted gut tract is released, and necrosis tract is cut off.
Intestinal Obstruction will most unlikely be cured in natural. As it has a risk of life unless receiving the immediate medical treatment, please consult with doctor in case if visible symptom comes up.