| Colonic
obstruction typically presents with progressive constipation and
abdominal distension. Pain and vomiting tend to be late features.
Manifestation of intra-abdominal malignancy resulting in colonic
obstruction include anastomotic recurrence, extrinsic compression,
and invasion from other disease. Traditional management of colonic
obstruction from advanced malignancy includes resection, usually
with primary anastomosis, defunctioning colostomy, and internal
bypass. Recently with the advent of new technology, expandable
metal stents are being used to palliate colonic obstruction and
laser clearance of luminal obstruction is now possible for
operable rectal disease. Because of
the traditional colostomy many patients in the palliative care
setting were left with colostomy stomas. Stomas were often viewed
as disgusting by patients and families. Hence, this needs to be
approached with some tact by carers. Enterostomal therapists are
employed in most larger hospitals and by community nurses to
advise with the management of stomas and fitting of appliances. In
addition, most patients are members of the colostomy support
group.
If you have questions related to this article you may e-mail me
at doctor@soontongkiong.com quoting the contents of the article.
About the author
DR SOON is a medical practitioner. He holds four degrees. MBBS
(University of Malaya), MBA (University of East Asia), LLB (Hons)
(University of Wolverhampton), Master of Medicine (Edith Cowan
University
:
Dr SOON is the owner of AskMyVisitor.com and MyScriptDoctor.com
where you can find the most up-to-date advice and information
on
many medical, health and lifestyle topics.
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