Acute pseudo-obstruction of the colon (Ogilvie's syndrome) following caesarean section under epidural anaesthesia.

Acute pseudo-obstruction of the colon usually occurs in association with a systemic illness, e.g. myocardial infarction, pneumonia, sepsis, or complicates a major operation or trauma. The aetiology is unclear and appears to be multifactorial. Hypotheses have included both surgery-related dysfunction of the sacral parasympathetic nerves, and an imbalance of the inhibitory sympathetic and excitatory parasympathetic colonic innervations. We report a case of this condition and discuss the clinical approach to its treatment.