[An analysis of palliative surgery for the patients with malignant bowel obstruction].

PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to clarify the surgical outcome of patients with palliative surgery for malignant bowel obstruction. OBJECTIVE AND METHODS: This study investigated the clinical features, operative procedures and postoperative course of 35 patients who underwent a palliative surgery for malignant bowel obstruction. And then the patients were divided into two groups; Patients in A group were consisted of 4 patients with hospital death and 7 patients with postoperative complications. Patients in B group were consisted of 24 patients without hospital death or postoperative complications. RESULT: Eighteen patients who had been inserted nasogastric tube or ileus tube in the preoperative state could be removed. Thirty-three of 35 patients(94.3%)could become an oral ingestion. Four of 35 patients(11.4%)could not be discharged; 3 patients died of cancer and 1 patient died of acute myocardial infarction. Postoperative complications were seen in 7 patients except 4 patients with hospital death. The median postoperative stay was 18 days(3-58). Twenty six of 35 patients(74.3%) underwent chemotherapy. The median survival time was 137 days(3-1,614). The patients in A group showed a lower level of albumin(p=0.0071)and hemoglobin,(p=0.0006)and poorer performance status(p=0.0178)than the patients in B group. The median hospital stay of the patients in A group and B group were 28 days and 16 days, respectively(p=0.0823). The median survival time of the patients in A group and B group were 42 days and 119 days, respectively(p=0.0035). CONCLUSION: We concluded that the palliative surgery made an oral ingestion possible and improved a quality of life of the patients with malignant bowel obstruction. However, the surgical indication should be carefully decided for the patients with low albumin, hemoglobin and poor performance status.