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Colon Volvulus

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Emergency General Surgery

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Abstract

Colonic volvulus occurs when a mobile segment of large intestine twists around its mesentery, causing obstruction of the colon lumen. If untreated, this obstruction can progress to vascular obstruction, bowel ischemia, and perforation. The sigmoid colon is the most common site of volvulus, followed by the cecum. Clinical findings are non-specific, and diagnosis is made with a combination of abdominal radiographs and CT scan. First-line management of sigmoid volvulus is colonoscopic decompression, followed by sigmoid resection. Cecal volvulus requires resection during the initial management algorithm because colonoscopic decompression is ineffective. Primary anastomosis is appropriate in most cases of cecal volvulus and many cases of sigmoid volvulus, provided the colon is viable.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Rebecca E. Plevin

  2. Department of Surgery, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Andre R. Campbell

Authors
  1. Rebecca E. Plevin
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  2. Andre R. Campbell
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andre R. Campbell .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dell Medical School, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA

    Carlos V. R. Brown

  2. Trauma and Surgical Critical Care, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Kenji Inaba

  3. Madigan Army Medical Center, Tacoma, WA, USA

    Matthew J. Martin

  4. Brigham and Womens’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Ali Salim

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Plevin, R.E., Campbell, A.R. (2019). Colon Volvulus. In: Brown, C., Inaba, K., Martin, M., Salim, A. (eds) Emergency General Surgery. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96286-3_28

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96286-3_28

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-96285-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-96286-3

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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