The role of sigmoid colon anatomic dimensions in the development of sigmoid volvulus, North-Western Ethiopia

INTRODUCTION: Sigmoid colon anatomic dimensions have been studied to have roles in the occurrence of sigmoid volvulus; however, these studies are few in number and failed to control the confounding effect of acute sigmoid obstruction on the anatomic dimensions. The main objective of this study was to assess the role of sigmoid colon anatomic dimensions in the development of sigmoid volvulus controlling the effect of acute sigmoid obstruction on the anatomic dimensions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was carried out from Dec, 2019 to April, 2021 at Tibebe Ghion Specialized Hospital and Felege Hiwot Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, two referral hospitals in Bahir Dar city, North-Western Ethiopia to compare sigmoid anatomic dimensions among three independent groups of participants: patients with no history of sigmoid volvulus (I), those for whom elective surgery was done after non-surgical detorsion of sigmoid volvulus (II), and patients for whom emergency surgery was done for sigmoid volvulus (III). The anatomic dimensions were compared using fixed effects one-way ANOVA or Kruskal-Wallis H test at p-value ≤ .05 (two-sided) and Tukey method or Dunn-Bonferroni’s test was used for post-hoc comparisons. RESULTS: A total of 66 consecutive eligible patients (22 for each of the three groups) were included and analyzed in the study. The means of anatomic dimensions (in cm) for groups (I, II, III) were: sigmoid colon length-SCL (35.91, 71.07, 80.86), meso-sigmoid height-MSH (17.11, 26.52, 28.86), meso-sigmoid maximal width-MSMW (9.70, 14.89,16.80), and meso-sigmoid root width-MSRW (8.34, 7.48, 8.11). SCL, MSH, MSMW, MSH/MSRW, and MSMW/MSRW were found to be statistically significantly different in patients with sigmoid volvulus. MSRW and MSH/MSMW were not different between the study groups. CONCLUSION: A long sigmoid colon with long and wide mesentery, but with a constant base is highly likely to predispose individuals to sigmoid volvulus.