Repeated stretched or non-stretched small bowel length measurements in healthy individuals.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of the present study was to contribute to the establishment of a standard method of small bowel measurement by comparing repeated small bowel length measurements with and without stretching in healthy individuals.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Small bowel measurement was randomly performed in 24 healthy liver donors. Three repetitive measurements were performed with complete stretching in 12 cases; whereas, 3 consecutive measurements were made without any stretching in the other 12 patients. Living donor hepatectomy continued uneventfully in all cases.

RESULTS

In the non-stretched group, the second measurement was 199 cm shorter than the first measurement (p <0.001). In the third measurement, this shortening had increased further, and the difference from the first measurement was 234 cm on average (p <0.001). In the stretched group, a shortening of approximately 135 cm between the first and second measurements was noted. In the third measurement, an improvement of 4% was observed in contrast to the non-stretched method, with a mean reduction of 105 cm in the small bowel length compared with the first measurement (p <0.001).

CONCLUSION

Stretching technique can reduce error rate in repeated small bowel measurements.