Abstract
We retrospectively examined the effect of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy in 56 patients with postoperative intestinal obstruction seen at our institution from July 2009 through August 2010. The patients were 33 men and 23 women, with a mean age of 68.4 years. HBO therapy was performed once daily, and a set of 7 sessions was considered as one term of therapy. The therapy was discontinued when the obstruction resolved. HBO therapy needed to be interrupted in 5 patients due to choking, claustrophobia, etc. Twenty cases underwent in HBO therapy combined with a short or long tube. The recovery rate after HBO therapy was 89.3% (50/56), the average number of times of enforcement was 5.22 (range 1 to 7). HBO therapy failed in 4 patients (7.8 %), excluding those patients in whom the therapy was interrupted, and the average number of times of enforcement in these patients was 6 (range 3 to 7). In spite of additional medical treatment, these 4 patients ultimately required surgery. It is suggested that surgery should be considered in patients when conservative therapy combined with HBO is not effective.
