POSTOPERATIVE mechanical small bowel obstruction following abdominoperineal resection of the rectum is a relatively frequent and often fatal complication. Twenty-eight per cent of the postoperative deaths in the present series were a direct result of this complication, and considerable morbidity resulted from obstruction in those patients who recovered.
MATERIAL
Records of 214 consecutive one-stage abdominoperineal resections performed at The Ellis Fischel State Cancer Hospital from May, 1940, to May, 1952, were studied. Ninety-two patients were females, and 122 were males. There were 14 postoperative deaths, a mortality rate of 6.5%. There were eight anatomically proved postoperative small bowel obstructions, and two fatal cases in which the diagnosis was based on clinical grounds. In these 10 cases, there were four deaths. In reviewing the records, it would be difficult to determine the actual number of true mechanical obstructions in which recovery occurred on conservative treatment accordingly, only the above cases were