[Treatment of patients with postoperative fistulas of the colon].

Experience in the treatment of 156 patients with postoperative fistulas of the colon is discussed. The etiopathogenesis of the fistulas was revealed. The authors characterize pyoseptic complications and show the practical significance of their differentiation into formed and unformed types, which determined the therapeutic strategy and the outcomes. Preference was given to nonoperative treatment of the fistulas before their formation and subsequent single-stage closure by surgery. When nonoperative treatment was ineffective, various types of operative methods for exclusion of the fistula were applied (as the first stage).