What causes twisting of the colon?
What causes the intestine to twist? Volvulus is most commonly caused by a birth defect called malrotation, when the bowel becomes misaligned during fetal development.
Who gets cecal volvulus?
Cecal volvulus is usually seen in adults of both sexes and all racial backgrounds who are between the ages of 30 and 60. 2 The symptoms of cecal volvulus can be similar to other gastrointestinal conditions, such as appendicitis, irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, and gastroenteritis (stomach flu).
Can a colonoscopy cause volvulus?
Mechanical bowel obstruction following colonoscopy has been reported by 21 other authors. Half of these have been related to volvulus of the caecum, sigmoid or entire small bowel mesentery.
What is a sigmoid volvulus?
Pathophysiology — Sigmoid volvulus occurs when an air-filled loop of the sigmoid colon twists about its mesentery. Obstruction of the intestinal lumen and impairment of vascular perfusion occur when the degree of torsion exceeds 180 and 360 degrees, respectively [24].
How is volvulus diagnosed?
The gold standard to diagnose volvulus is an upper GI series, a procedure performed to examine the stomach and first portion of the intestine.
How common is SBO?
SBO accounts for 20% of all acute surgical admissions. (See Presentation, Workup, and Treatment.)
What happens if they perforate your bowel during a colonoscopy?
After a regular colonoscopy, many patients experience some crampy abdominal pain because of retained air in the bowel. Intraperitoneal perforation can cause peritoneal irritation with rebound tenderness, rigidity of the abdomen, accompanied by fever, leukocytosis, and tachycardia.
How does sigmoid volvulus occur?
Sigmoid volvulus is the most common type of colonic volvulus and occurs when a portion of the intestine twists around its blood supply. In sigmoid volvulus, this occurs at the base of the mesentery. It most commonly presents in patients who are bedbound and have a history of chronic constipation.
What is the most common site of volvulus?
The most common sites of volvulus are the sigmoid colon and cecum [1-4]. Volvulus of other portions of the alimentary tract, such as the stomach, gallbladder, small bowel, splenic flexure, and transverse colon, are rare.