Enteroclysis in the diagnosis of intestinal obstruction in the early postoperative period.

Intestinal obstruction in the early post-operative period may be difficult to diagnose clinically and on plain abdominal radiographs with failure to distinguish obstruction from ileus. During the last 11 years we have examined 14 patients with the enteroclysis technique (small bowel barium enema) for suspected early postoperative small intestinal obstruction. Evidence of obstruction was demonstrated in all cases, the site of obstruction was clearly shown in most patients, and the cause identified in 5.