[Peroperative diagnostics of acute bowel ischemia using ultraviolet light and fluorescein dye]

Acute bowel ischemia continues to have a high mortality rate. The main factor related to this poor outcome is considered to be the delay in diagnosis. The ability to detect ischemia early and to assess the extent of bowel involvement, are the most important aspects of successful treatment. The combination of ultraviolet (UV) light and fluorescein dye would be considered a simple, reliable and technically easy procedure for diagnosis of intestinal ischemia. The method can be used both for laparotomy when the source of UV light is a Wood's lamp as well for laparoscopy when the optical filters are placed to the light source of laparoscopic set to produce UV light. Present clinical experience shows that the method is precise, objective and accessible and that it gives a greater amount of independence to the surgeon allowing him to make the diagnosis of intestinal ischemia without having to rely on the assistance of other specialists.