Palliative surgery for malignant bowel obstruction in patients with advanced and recurrent gastroenterological cancer

Abstract We report the outcomes of palliative surgery for the treatment of malignant bowel obstruction in patients with advanced gastroenterological cancer. We studied 20 patients who had undergone palliative surgery over 3 years. We analyzed the clinical findings, surgical procedure, postoperative clinical course, and prognosis. The origin of the patients was colorectal cancer( 9 cases), gastric cancer( 4 cases), uterine cancer( 3 cases), pancreatic cancer( 2 cases), bladder( 1 case), and anal cancer (1 case). Small bowel obstruction was noted in 8 cases and colorectal obstruction was noted in 14 cases. Colostomy was performed in 13 cases, resection and reconstruction were performed in 6 cases, and bypass was performed in 4 cases. Ninety percent of the patients were able to eat solid food following the surgery, but 20% of the patients were forced to have bowel obstruction. The median survival time after palliative surgery was 3 (range, 0-15) months, and 6 patients (30%) died within 2 months. We concluded that palliative surgery for the treatment of malignant bowel obstruction could improve the patients' quality of life. The decision for performing palliative surgery should be made while considering the patient's prognosis, wishes, and potential for symptom improvement.