Preoperative fluoroscopic placement of a small bowel tube: A useful tool in the operative management of small bowel obstruction

The purpose of this article is to describe a previously unreported techniqu e used intraoperatively to orient the surgeon to the proximal segment of th e small bowel. Three patients with small bowel obstruction unresponsive to medical management had preoperative fluoroscopic placement of a rigid, yet flexible, tube into the jejunum. At the time of exploratory laparotomy, the tube could be easily palpated and allowed identification of the proximal s mall bowel. Preoperative fluoroscopic placement of a rigid tube into the je junum is useful in selected patients with small bowel obstruction, who are known to have multiple adhesions, and in whom the passage of Canter or Mill er-Abbot tubes is unlikely to be successful.