Laparoscopic Small Intestine Procedures

The small intestine is the part of the intestinal tract between the duodenum and the large intestine.

It may be divided into 2 parts: the jejunum and the ileum.

The most common causes of small bowel surgery are:

Adhesions

These are fibrous bands that form in the abdominal cavity after previous surgery or some inflammation.

The extent of the adhesions depends on the degree of the intervention of previous surgeries, the degree of inflammation, but also the genetic predisposition of the patient himself may to a large extent be responsible for their creation.

The adhesions do not always cause a problem but a small percentage of 5% do.

The condition that can cause and force surgery is intestinal obstruction, or “Adhesive small bowel obstruction (ASBO)”, in which case it cannot be resolved on its own or by using conservative measures.

Surgical adhesiolysis is a procedure that can be performed laparoscopically, and this has now dramatically replaced open surgery in this area, and offers much less postoperative pain and a remarkably faster recovery.

Small bowel diverticular disease:

Diverticular disease of the small intestine is not a common condition.

It is rarer than in the large intestine (colon). The symptoms it presents are not typical and the diagnosis is usually made by exclusion, with the help of many diagnostic methods, including the modern “capsule”.

Treatment ranges from treating the symptoms to surgical treatment.

Specialized surgery requires the knowledge and performance of additional, simpler or more complex, elective or urgent surgeries.

Many simple surgeries that can be performed on their own are usually surgeries performed at the same time as other more complex ones, such as upper gastrointestinal surgery.

For example, a laparoscopic cholecystectomy or a laparoscopic adhesiolysis may well be carried out at the same time as a more major morbid obesity operation, such as a laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Here are some indications of interventions that can be performed safely and with experience.

Special mention is made of abdominal surgery in patients who have previously undergone surgery for morbid obesity.