🍐 In this episode of PodBites, Rida Shahab and Maryam Tarique guide you through bowel obstruction — from early mechanical blockages to life-threatening complications — using clinical reasoning, imaging clues, and high-yield management principles.
🎙️ Tune in to explore:
- The definition of bowel obstruction and the difference between mechanical vs functional causes
- Extramural, intramural, and intraluminal etiologies, including adhesions, hernias, tumors, and volvulus
- Open-loop vs closed-loop obstruction and why strangulation is a surgical emergency
- How to localize obstruction clinically, including key differences between proximal and distal obstruction
- The pathophysiologic cascade: distention → fluid shifts → ischemia → necrosis → perforation
- Essential diagnostic tools, including the 3-6-9 rule, transition zone, and critical CT scan findings
- Small bowel obstruction, especially adhesions, and the stepwise approach to conservative vs surgical management
- Large bowel obstruction, volvulus, Ogilvie’s syndrome, and malignant obstruction, and their definitive treatments
🌟 A structured, high-yield guide to understanding bowel obstruction, helping you connect anatomy, physiology, and emergency management with confidence.
