What is the most common cause of small bowel obstruction?
Causes of intestinal obstruction: a) adults hernias, adhesions (common), tumours, foreign body, Meckel diverticulum, Crohn disease (uncommon), Ascaris infestation, midgut volvulus, intussusception by tumour (rare). b) neonates meconium ileus, volvulus of a malrotated gut, atresia, intussusception.
What is a closed loop small bowel obstruction?
Closed loop obstruction is a specific type of small bowel obstruction in which two points along the course of a bowel are obstructed at a single location thus forming a closed loop. Closed loop usually rotates around its axis, forming a small intestinal volvulus.
The following signs are demonstrated on this CT:
marked distension of a segment of small bowel
radially distributed, C or U-shaped small bowel loops
"beak sign": of the tapering bowel loops at the point of obstruction
"whirl sign": of the tightly twisted mesentery
two adjacent collapsed loops of bowel
Closed ileal bowel loop obstruction is suggested with strangulation and right iliac fossa appendicular mucocele.