Gangrenous bowel. Benin experience.

A retrospective study of 115 patients who presented to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital with intestinal gangrene over a 5 year period is presented. Although hernia is the most common cause of bowel gangrene, more patients with volvulus end up with gangrenous bowel. Because Nigerian patients present with late intestinal obstruction, more dead bowel would have been expected than is currently noted. Is it possible that the African is resistant to intestinal strangulation?