Role of Laparoscopy in the Surgical Management of Acute Small Bowel Obstruction: Fact or Fiction?

Background: Laparotomy (open surgery) is considered the standard approach for acute small bowel obstruction (ASBO). However, with the advent of minimally invasive surgery, the laparoscopic approach is gaining popularity. There is no consensus on the appropriate setting for laparoscopic therapy for small bowel obstruction (SBO). Aim and objectives: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the outcomes of laparoscopic surgery for ASBO. Patients and methods: We retrospectively evaluated the prospectively collected data of all the 38 patients who had undergone laparoscopy for ASBO, performed by a single surgeon at our institution, due to adhesions (30 patients), internal hernias (five patients), midgut malrotation (one patient), ileo-ileal intussusception (one patient), and superior mesenteric artery (SMA) syndrome (one patient) from 2012 to 2020. Data were extracted from the hospital electronic medical records (EMR) for the following parameters of each individual patient: age, sex, clinical presentation, preoperative investigation findings, final diagnosis, surgical details, operating time, time to postoperative oral feeds, length of hospital stay, complications, recurrences, and time taken to resume normal activity. A preoperative abdominal contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) was performed in all the cases. Patients with peritonitis and septic shock were excluded from the study. Results: The mean age of the 38 patients was 58 years (ranged between 33 and 83 years) with a standard deviation (SD) of 16.5. The mean age of the female patients in the study was 60.5 years with an SD of 16.6, while the mean age of the male patients was 54.9 years (SD = 16.2). The age difference between male and female patients in the study was not statistically significant (p = 0.36). The mean operating time was 74.4 minutes (range: 60-90 minutes, with an SD of 7.2). The mean time to oral liquid/soft diet was 2.5 days. The mean postoperative stay was 5.7 days. Three patients (8%) underwent conversion to open surgery, out of which two patients had multiple complex bowel-to-bowel and bowel-to-parietes adhesions, and in one patient, massive distension of small bowel caused technical difficulties. Conclusion: Laparoscopic management of ASBO is feasible, effective, and safe. Optimum surgical techniques, the surgeon's experience with the procedure, and stringent patient selection criteria enable a high probability of success.