1997 Volume 58 Issue 2 Pages 402-405
Small bowel stricture after blunt abdominal trauma is a rare case of ileus. We experienced a case of ileus due to small bowel stricture 10 days after a blunt trauma. A 51-year-old man with no previous history of undergoing laparotomy was admitted because of abdominal pain lasting after a fighting. Traumatic pancreatitis was suspected. As his symptoms improved, he was discharged six days following conservative therapy. Four days later he was admitted again because of abdominal pain with nausea and vomiting. He was diagnosed as having intestinal obstruction. Small intestinal radiograms disclosed small bowel stricture. Laparotomy was performed. A potion of the small intestine about 170cm in length distal from the Treitz' ligament thickened, narrowed, and was twisted by the omentum. The affected small bowel was resected. The whole layer of the small bowel was microscopically injured that caused intestinal obstruction in this case. Small bowel stricture should be entertained as a probable cause in patients manifesting ileus symptoms in a relatively early period after a blunt abdominal trauma.
