According to "Schwartz's Principles of Surgery," obstruction is the most common surgical disorder of the small intestine. It can result from a variety of pathologic conditions, including those which originate within the bowel itself and those...
A partial bowel blockage, also called a partial bowel obstruction, is a condition in which your intestines are partially blocked. This blockage can stop or slow the passage of fecal material through your bowels. If you have a pre-existing...
Bowel obstruction is the cessation of movement of food through a person's small or large bowel. It is an absolute medical emergency that sometimes requires surgery. Because it can occur in both large and small bowel, it is divided into the two...
Small bowel obstructions can be a medical emergency. It happens when fecal matter becomes stuck along the intestinal tract and nothing can move past it, causing everything to back up. There are stages to obstructions. For complete obstructions,...
Small bowel obstruction occurs in the small intestine and prevents food or fluid from passing though. Pre-existing medical conditions including inflammatory bowel disease or kidney disease may increase your risk of intestinal obstruction. However,...
Trauma to the abdominal cavity caused by C-section results in the formation of a type of internal scar tissue, called adhesions. Abdominal adhesions may remain asymptomatic or they can cause serious complications such as bowel obstruction,...
Small bowel obstruction occurs when the intestine loses function as a result of either partial or complete blockage. Postoperative scar tissue causes most bowel obstructions and can happen anywhere from four weeks to many years after surgery. An...
Under normal circumstances, dietary fiber, found in fruits, vegetables and whole grains, is an essential part of a healthy diet with many benefits, including promoting bowel regularity. However, certain conditions, such as bowel obstruction,...
Ulmus fulva, also known as slippery elm and red elm, is a traditional herbal remedy for many conditions. People have used the inner bark of slippery elm topically to heal wounds, burns and skin inflammation, and internally to relieve coughing and...
Your bowels and other abdominal organs have slick, membranous surfaces that prevent them from sticking together when they make contact under normal circumstances. Adhesions may occur when tissues make contact and band together, most often after...
Most babies vomit at one time or another, and some babies vomit a great deal. While most causes of vomiting in infants is self-limiting and benign, vomiting can also indicate a serious medical problem. The type, frequency and amount of vomiting,...
"Current Diagnosis & Treatment: Surgery" states that small bowel obstructions are the most common surgical problem of the small intestine. These obstructions present with colicky abdominal pain, profuse vomiting and nausea. Resolution of a...
Inflammatory bowel disease refers to ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Both are chronic inflammatory diseases that occur in the alimentary, or GI, tract. According to Family Doctor, about 500,000 people in the United States have this...
Crohn's disease is a chronic condition characterized by inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. It causes periods of intestinal flare-ups accompanied by symptoms such as diarrhea and abdominal pain, and then typically remits for a variable...
You will not hear it discussed in polite company, but a lower bowel obstruction is quite common. Adhesions or surgical scars often cause a blockage in your intestines. Mechanical obstructions caused by narrow, crimped or twisted sections of your...
Of all hospital admissions in the U.S. every year for abdominal pain, a full 15 percent result from bowel obstructions. That amounts to about 300,000 emergency admissions, and of these, 30,000 patients will die. These alarming statistics from the...
Nearly half of all cancer patients will receive radiation therapy as part of their treatment, according to the National Cancer Institute. High-energy radiation can kill or help control many kinds of cancer and is a mainstay of modern cancer...
A diet low in fiber may help relieve partial intestinal blockage, a potential complication of bowel adhesions. Adhesions, or bands of scar tissue that connect the surfaces of abdominal organs, occur most often as a result of abdominal or pelvic...
A soft diet, according to the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, is a diet designed to eliminate foods that are difficult to chew and swallow. It also eliminates foods that are spicy, fried or gas-producing. Foods in a soft diet are both...
Complications can occur following gastrointestinal or any type of surgical procedure. Complications are best avoided through strategic planning and safe surgical technique performed by the surgeon. Gastrointestinal surgeries include anastomoses,...
Stomach cramps and nausea are common symptoms that everyone experiences at some point in their lives. In most cases, stomach cramps and nausea occur as a result of minor digestive problems or common viral infections that clear up quickly....
Cramping pain in the stomach is a common symptom that is usually a result of gas and bloating and in the majority of cases does not signal a serious problem. When cramping pain in the stomach occurs frequently, lasts more than 24 hours or is...
A bowel blockage or obstruction refers to a partial or complete blockage of your intestine that prevents solids, fluids and gas from moving through as they normally would. A bowel blockage can happen in either the small or large intestine. In...
Crohn's disease belongs to a group of digestive diseases referred to as inflammatory bowel diseases. The condition is characterized by the inflammation of the digestive tract. According to the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse,...
Numerous conditions can cause abdominal pain without bleeding. According to MayoClinic.com, it's often difficult to determine the exact location or source of abdominal pain. Structures in one area of the abdomen may cause pain locally or in...
A bowel obstruction occurs when there is a blockage in your small intestine or colon that prevents contents from moving through. An obstruction of the small intestine, or bowel, can cause painful symptoms and serious complications. Walking might...
Blockage of the small bowel, or small bowel obstruction, is a blockage in the small intestine that impedes the normal passage of fluid and digested material. The blockage is categorized as partial or complete. Most partial small bowel obstructions...
Colon polyps appear as raised, flat or stalk-like growths of tissue on the surface of the large intestine. Colon polyps typically don't cause cancer, but some types of polyps can become cancerous. Polyps don’t produce symptoms most of the...
Short bowel syndrome is a blockage in the small bowel, also known as the small intestine or the large bowel, or large intestine, that prevents the intestine's contents from passing through the digestive tract. Tumors or swelling can block...
