Small bowel complications after supravesical urinary diversion in pelvic exenteration

Between June, 1966, and June, 1984, 102 pelvic exenterations were performed at Jackson Memorial Hospital/University of Miami Medical Center and all patients had some type of supravesical urinary diversion. Of these patients, 23 were reexplored for a gastrointestinal complication and 15 of those had a small bowel complication. Small bowel fistula occurred in 15 instances and 9 patients were reexplored. The fistula associated mortality was 53.3%. All the fistulas occurred in previously radiated patients who had undergone an enteroenteroanastomosis. The recent use of enterocolostomies after the construction of an ileal conduit in 21 patients has not produced any postoperative small bowel fistula, while in 43 patients who underwent enteroenterostomies, 13 fistulas occurred (P less than 0.01). Patients who did not undergo pelvic floor closure had a higher incidence of fistula and small bowel obstruction, while there were no fistulas in patients with previous enterocolostomies, regardless of the pelvic closure.