Oxford American Pocket Notes Postoperative Ileus

Ileus is a general functional inhibition of the propulsive bowel activity in the absence of mechanical bowel obstruction. Postoperative ileus (POI) is a more specific condition which is a transient cessation of coordinated bowel motility after surgery, preventing effective transit of intestinal content. Depending on the type of surgery, and especially when the bowels are involved in the surgery, the incidence can be high, affecting 4 to 20 percent of abdominal surgery patients. Typically, in the