Gastrointestinal System Disorders Q 185

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A client has just had surgery for colon cancer. Which of the following disorders might the client develop?

  

    A. Peritonitis

    B. Diverticulosis

    C. Partial bowel obstruction

    D. Complete bowel obstruction

    

    

Correct Answer: A. Peritonitis

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Bowel spillage could occur during surgery, resulting in peritonitis. Intestinal perforations occur most commonly in CRC and in diverticular disease. They are seen less often in other diseases of the colon (ulcerative colitis, Lesniowski-Crohn disease), abdominal trauma therein iatrogenic (complications after surgery, after endoscopic examination, or after radiation therapy), colonic ischemia, and necrosis.

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Option B: Diverticulosis doesn’t result from surgery or colon cancer. Diverticulosis is a clinical condition in which multiple sac-like protrusions (diverticula) develop along the gastrointestinal tract. Though diverticula may form at weak points in the walls of either the small or large intestines, the majority occur in the large intestine (most commonly the sigmoid colon).

Option C: Partial bowel obstruction may occur before bowel resection. Acute colonic obstruction produces a dilated bowel with a large amount of fecal loading that is proximal to the blockage and is associated with bacterial overgrowth and impairment of blood flow.

Option D: Complete bowel obstruction may occur before bowel resection. Colorectal cancer is the single most common cause of large intestinal obstruction. Approximately 2% to 5% of colorectal cancer patients have an obstruction. Cancer arising in the rectum or left colon is more likely to obstruct than cancer arising in the proximal colon.

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