next up previous index Surgical Topics
Next: Bibliography Up: Clinical Algorithm Previous: What is the level   Index


What is the cause of the obstruction?

The clinician may hazard a guess based upon all the available information. If there has been previous abdominal surgery and the patient has small bowel obstruction then the most likely diagnosis is adhesions. If the patient has an irreducible hernia this may well be the cause. In many cases though, definitive diagnosis rests upon intra-operative findings and the results of pathological examination of resected specimens.



Adrian P. Ireland