[Obturation with an elastic balloon--the authors' procedure for the conservative treatment of external postoperative digestive fistulae].

UNLABELLED

A personal method for the conservative treatment of the postsurgical external digestive fistulas by means of obturation with an elastic balloon of adjustable pressure, used in Surgical Clinic I Craiova in the past 12 years is presented. Initially conceived as an elective method for the treatment of the fistulas exposed in evisceration, the procedure was later applied as a unique method or in association with other conservative procedure in almost all types of fistulas. 122 patients have been treated by means of our method (3 esophageal, 65 gastro-duodenal and gastro-intestinal, 27 intestinal and 27 colo-rectal fistulas), in 53 cases a unique method and in 69 cases as a therapeutically sequences within the conservative treatment of the fistulas.

RESULTS

115 patients (94.2%) have had a fair evolution; we have registered 7 death, which represent a mortality rate of 5.93%.

CONCLUSIONS

Our method offers the following advantages: it considerably reduces the losses of digestive liquids through the fistula; it allows early resumption of normal nourishment; it allows early mobilization of the patients; it prevents the occurrence of new fistulas which are caused by decubitus lesions; it is a simple and economic method, which can be applied in any surgical department.