Small bowel exclusion from the pelvis by a polyglycolic acid mesh sling.

Radiation enteritis is seen in patients receiving radiation therapy for various pelvic malignancies. Attempts to prevent this have included various surgical as well as nutritional approaches with little success. The use of a polyglycolic acid mesh sling sewn above the pelvic inlet has prevented small bowel descent into the true pelvis in rats and in humans. The technique has been successful in both with no attendant morbidity during an 11-month follow up. Several patients have received additional doses of radiation therapy that would not have been given if the small bowel were not removed from the area to be irradiated.