Surgical intervention for mechanical large bowel obstruction at a tertiary hospital: Which patients receive a stoma and how often are they reversed?

Abstract Background The surgical management of large bowel obstruction (LBO) is heterogeneous and influenced by multiple variables. The aim of this study was to analyze and compare the surgical interventions and outcomes of patients necessitating surgery for LBO. Methods Patients with LBO between 2000 and 2017 were included. Main outcomes measures are intraoperative findings, operative management, post-operative outcomes and stoma closure rates. Results 133 patients were included with predominately left-sided obstruction (82%). The most common etiology was colorectal cancer (44%) followed by extrinsic malignant compression (29%). The most common operation performed was fecal diversion without resection (46%). This group had significantly more stage 4 carcinoma, carcinomatosis and had the lowest stoma closure rate (16%). Eighty-six percent of the operated patients underwent fecal diversion, of these, 27% had stoma reversal at 6 months. Patients that had a resection and anastomosis with diverting loop ileostomy were most likely to undergo stoma reversal (p = 0.005) and had the lowest number of patients with stage-IV carcinoma. Conclusions In this single institution analysis, the management of LBO entails high operative and stoma rates, with less than 30% of patient undergoing stoma closure. Resection, anastomosis and DLI had the highest chance of stoma reversal.