<p>The NG tube decompresses the stomach and provides a place for gastric and intestinal secretions to go while the obstruction exists. The NG tube does not resolve the obstruction - it merely provides time to the obstruction to resolve itself. (Not all obstructions will resolve without surgery.) Continued obstruction with bowel and stomach distention above the obstruction can lead to serious bowel injury; The NG tube relieves the distention and reduces the risk of bowel injury due to distention.</p>
<p>As noted, the NG tube must be of sufficient caliber to remove air and viscous fluid from the stomach and from first part of the small intestine; a small tube will not do.</p>
<p>Surgery to relieve adhesions causing recurrent bowel obstruction often, but not always, helps things. A laparoscopic approach may allow adhesions to be taken down without the long recovery due to a large abdominal incision.</p>
<p>Anything is better than a bowel obstruction that leads to injured or perforated bowel, emergent surgery and a possible colostomy.</p>
<p>Digging info from my brain way back in my surgery internship days, adhesions are scarring on the outside of the intestine, which is similar to having a keloid scar on the skin. Surgery can be done to lyse these adhesions to free up the kinks in the intestine. Some may be tentative to recommend this in the event that new adhesions occur, which may be worse. But as previous poster pointed out, laparoscopic lysis of adhesions may have a moderate to good success rate in the hands of surgeons experienced with this technique. This source states 46-87% long term success
[Laparoscopic</a> lysis of adhesions. - PubMed Mobile](<a href=“Laparoscopic lysis of adhesions - PubMed”>Laparoscopic lysis of adhesions - PubMed)</p>
<p>Again this must be balanced by the risk of adhesion recurrence.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your good wishes, and thank you medical professionals for your expertise and those links. He is receiving care from a good teaching hospital so I am hopeful he will get the proper advice and treatment. I’ll learn more later this morning.</p>
<p>VH, best of luck to your son. My$0.02, thanks doc for the nod to nurses. When I was with my mother during her visit to her surgeon, (she also had a bowel obstruction), she commented to him not to listen to me as I was “just a nurse”. I was pleasantly surprised at his very forceful response to her about nurses and how they had saved “his hide” on many occasions as well as his patients.</p>
<p>He is feeling better this morning, so crisis averted. At least this time.</p>
<p>The doc at his follow-up appointment discussed the possibility of surgery, what it would entail, and so forth. Doc also said it should really be “watch and wait” at this point, since allegedly the problem may go away and he may never have it again (:rolleyes:) or he may not have it for years. Son was relieved to hear about the surgery and how it’s not a major operation – she said they do it on outpatient basis (assuming it’s laparoscopic) and that he’d be out of commission for about a week. </p>
<p>So, fingers crossed this never happens again. Sigh.</p>
<p>Nurses are the eyes, ears, hands, hearts, brains and data entry clerks of medical care in this country. A doctor who ignores information from nurses will soon regret it.</p>