[Respiratory problems following repeated abdominal surgery].

The authors analyzed a series of 100 patients who had undergone a total of 143 reinterventions and found respiratory manifestations in 86 cases. They emphasized the frequency of functional respiratory failure and studied the course of different clinical, radiological and laboratory parameters. The second part is concerned with the physiopathological mechanisms, recalling the main causes of postoperative hypoxemia. Finally the therapeutic chapter is centered on the chronology and modalities of artificial ventilation.