Radical surgical approach to radiation injury of the small bowel

Surgical management of intestinal radiation injury

The management of 14 cases of radiation injury to the intestinal tract over a 4-year period is evaluated. The longest latent interval between radiation treatment and symptoms was 30 years. Eight patients were treated surgically; six were treated conservatively by laser therapy or application of formalin to the affected mucosa. The indications for surgery were rectovaginal fistula (four), rectal stricture (one), radiation proctitis (eight), and small bowel obstruction (one). Seven patients underwent large bowel resection. These consisted of four anastomoses with coloanal J-reservoirs, two low anterior resections, and one coloanal anastomosis without reservoir. There was no perioperative mortality. Morbidity occurred in one of the eight surgical cases. Radical resection of the radiation-damaged rectum has been shown to be a safe and reliable treatment for rectovaginal fistulas, rectal strictures, and proctitis unresponsive to medical measures. Coloanal J-reservoir is the procedure of choice to avoid urgency and frequency symptoms associated with coloanal sleeve anastomosis. Laser therapy for hemorrhagic proctitis can achieve an important place in the management of this problem without recourse to surgery.

Late radiation injury of the small intestine. Clinical, pathophysiologic and radiobiologic aspects. A review

Transient symptoms due to injury of the intestinal mucosa occur in the majority of patients receiving radiation therapy for pelvic or intra-abdominal neoplasms. Late (chronic) radiation enteropathy, although less common, is a more serious condition, associated with high morbidity and mortality. The manifestations of late radiation enteropathy are primarily due to changes in compartments other than the mucosa, such as intestinal wall fibrosis and obliterating vascular sclerosis. As a result of recent clinical and experimental studies, considerable knowledge about the pathogenesis, dose-response relationship, and time-course of development of late radiation enteropathy has been obtained. Also, the advent of new animal models has facilitated studies of time-dose-fractionation relationships in the intestine. The present paper summarizes clinical, pathophysiologic, and radiobiologic aspects pertinent to the development of chronic intestinal radiation injury.

Chronic radiation enteritis: a community hospital experience

A retrospective study was undertaken to evaluate the operative management of patients with chronic radiation enteropathy. Thirty-eight affected patients from 1974 to 1986 were reviewed. Patients with recurrent cancer responsible for symptoms were excluded. Seventy-one percent of patients presented with bowel obstruction. Twenty-one patients were treated with bowel resection, while 17 were treated with a bypass procedure or diverting ostomy alone. Overall morbidity was 45%, and postoperative mortality was 16%. Patients in the bypass group were significantly older than those in the resection group (70.3 vs. 55.5 years, P = .024), suggesting that age may have been a determinant of the procedure performed. In our study there was no difference in outcome based on preexisting vascular disease, tumor site, type of procedure performed, or radiation dose. We conclude that resection is the procedure of choice in cases of chronic radiation enteritis requiring surgery except in cases with dense adhesions when enteroenterostomal bypass is a viable alternative.

Technique of insertion of pelvic Vicryl mesh sling to avoid postradiation enteritis

The increasing use of pelvic radiotherapy has necessitated the study of ways to avoid radiation enteropathy. The authors have been using a pelvic sling to keep the small intestine out of the pelvis and because of the difficulties encountered, believe the method that has evolved is worthy of description.

Long-term prognosis of patients with severe radiation enteritis

One hundred thirty-six patients (median age 59 years) presented with intestinal complications of previous radiotherapy. Seventy-eight had bleeding or stricture and 58 had perforation or fistula. One hundred twenty-four patients survived for more than 3 months and were followed for a median of 4.5 years. Sixty-eight patients were free of symptoms, whereas 16 experienced operation-related complications. Twelve patients had continuing symptoms of radiation enteritis, and new radiation-induced complications developed in 28. Sixteen of 51 patients with perforation or fistula had new complications compared with 12 of 73 patients with bleeding of stricture (p = 0.05). Overall, 57 patients died during the study. Thirteen died from radiation-induced complications and 27, from recurrent malignancy. Radiation deaths occurred in the postoperative period but had no impact on long-term survival. Life expectancy was poorer in patients presenting with perforation or fistula compared with bleeding or stricture, the main reason being significantly more recurrences among patients with fistulas (p less than 0.05).

Strategies for preserving intestinal length in the short-bowel syndrome

Total parenteral nutrition now permits long-term survival in patients after massive intestinal resection. Surgical therapy for the short-bowel syndrome is still largely experimental and cannot be recommended routinely. Thus, prevention of intestinal resection and conservation of intestinal length, when resection is necessary, should be emphasized. Strategies are presented that can be employed to preserve intestinal length when surgery is required in patients with a shortened bowel. These include strictureplasty, minimal resection, serosal patching, and intestinal tapering. In suitable candidates strictureplasty can relieve obstruction from strictures while avoiding resection. Minimal resection of involved intestine can be performed safely in selected patients with radiation injury or Crohn's disease. Serosal patching is an alternative to resection for the treatment of perforation or strictures of the intestine. Intestinal tapering can improve the function of dilated intestinal segments and eliminate the need for resection in intestinal atresia. The judicious use of these procedures can preserve intestinal length and obviate the need for long-term parenteral nutrition in patients after massive intestinal resection.