Small bowel obstruction: a review of 456 cases in a west of Ireland region.

A retrospective study was carried out of 456 patients with small bowel obstruction (SBO). The operative findings of all patients who presented with SBO between 1977 and 1982 were compared and contrasted with those who presented during equivalent periods in the previous three decades. Obstructed hernias still account for the highest percentage of cases. Surprisingly, adhesions as a causative factor are not significantly more common than they were three decades ago, despite the enormous increase in the frequency with which abdominal surgery is now being carried out. The postoperative mortality rate for the period 1977-82 was 14%.