Intestinal Obstruction Specialists in ESI, Delhi

What is Intestinal Obstruction?

Intestinal obstruction is a partial or complete blockage of the small or large intestine that prevents the normal passage of food, fluids, and gas through the digestive tract. It is a surgical emergency that can result from a mechanical blockage, such as scar tissue, a hernia, or a tumor, or from a functional problem where the intestine fails to contract properly. Symptoms typically develop over hours and worsen progressively, and if untreated, the trapped bowel segment can lose its blood supply, leading to tissue death and life-threatening infection. Prompt diagnosis with imaging and timely intervention are essential.

Causes of Intestinal Obstruction

Common mechanical causes include adhesions or scar tissue from previous abdominal surgery, hernias, tumors, and volvulus (twisting of the bowel), while functional obstruction can occur from post-surgical bowel paralysis, electrolyte imbalance, or certain medications. Risk factors include prior abdominal surgery, inflammatory bowel disease, and advanced age. Inflammation, adhesions, or a foreign body physically narrowing the bowel lumen are the underlying mechanism in most mechanical cases.

Symptoms of Intestinal Obstruction

Severe crampy abdominal pain, abdominal distension and bloating, vomiting, inability to pass gas or stool, constipation, loud bowel sounds or, later, absence of bowel sounds, abdominal tenderness, dehydration

Treatment & Types of Intestinal Obstruction in ESI, Delhi

Initial management includes bowel rest, nasogastric tube decompression to relieve pressure, intravenous fluids, and correction of electrolyte imbalances. Many partial obstructions resolve with conservative management, but complete obstruction, signs of strangulation, or failure to improve require urgent surgery to remove the blockage or the affected bowel segment. Close monitoring for signs of bowel ischemia is essential throughout treatment.

Intestinal obstruction is classified as mechanical, caused by a physical blockage such as adhesions, hernia, tumor, or volvulus, or functional (paralytic ileus), where the bowel fails to contract properly without an actual physical blockage, often after surgery or from electrolyte imbalance. It is further categorized by completeness as partial or complete, and by whether blood supply is compromised, strangulated, versus intact, simple.

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