Bowel surgery

The intestine is a very difficult area to do surgery on. Diseases in which the intestines have to be operated on are highly recurrent and technically difficult to perform. Nevertheless, sometimes they are the only way to save a patient’s life. The majority of surgical interventions performed on the human intestine come down to performing the following surgeries:

• Anastomoses (connections between gastrointestinal organs that are not normally connected directly);
• Removal of stomas (removal of intestinal mucosa to the surface of the skin for various medical needs);
• Removal (resection) of the intestine, its fragments, or a particular section of the intestine;
• A variety of reconstructive surgeries in different sections (to restore permeability, improve the passage of chyme and faeces, etc.);
• Elimination of the adhesions (removal) of adhesions formed between the peritoneum and the intestine during previous surgeries;

And many other types of interventions.

It is important to understand that the primary goal of most operations performed on the bowel is to eliminate the pathology that led to the development of negative symptoms. For example, bowel resections are often performed to prevent the spread of the tumour. Other surgeries are more of a palliative nature. For example, a colon-rectal stoma is inserted if the patient loses control of his or her bowel function.