IMAGING OF ABDOMINAL COMPLICATIONS FOLLOWING CARDIAC-SURGERY

Ten thousand seven hundred fifty-six patients underwent cardiac bypass surgery at the Mater Hospital national cardiac unit between September 1979 and April 1993. Of this group, 49 patients were identified who h ad developed postoperative gastrointestinal complications leading to 1 6 deaths. Twenty-five patients developed gastrointestinal hemorrhage, eight patients developed gallbladder disease, five patients developed phlegmonous pancreatitis, eight patients developed bowel perforations, and three patients developed intestinal pseudoobstruction. The partic ular radiological features that lead to diagnosis in each case are dis cussed and relevant literature is briefly reviewed.