Abstract
Twenty-four patients with postoperative external duodenal fistulas were managed in general surgical units over a six-year period. Management included aggressive nutritional support, localization and drainage of intraabdominal sepsis, and definitive surgical closure for those fistulas which did not close spontaneously. Spontaneous closure occurred in 92% of cases. All but one patient survived admission to hospital, and one patient died following readmission with intraabdominal sepsis resulting in a mortality of 8%. Provision of appropriate nutritional support and prompt control of sepsis has been associated with a low mortality rate and high rate of spontaneous fistula closure.
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Garden, O.J., Dykes, E.H. & Carter, D.C. Surgical and nutritional management of postoperative duodenal fistulas. Digest Dis Sci 33, 30–35 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01536627
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01536627