Postoperative Ileus after Orthopedic and Spine Surgery: A Critical Review

Constipation and abdominal discomfort are the most common complaints after orthopedic surgery. Still, there is still not much development in the knowledge about postoperative ileus (POI). It is evident due to the lack of published literature on Post Operative Ileus (POI) and its sequel. A comprehensive review of the literature was conducted to identify the risk factors, mechanism, and treatment to treat POI. The literature search was performed using search engines such as PubMed, MEDLINE, SCOPUS, and Google Scholar databases on April 1, 2019. After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, we selected nine publications for this review. Only six of these studies were related to POI after orthopedic (4) or spine surgery (2). These studies comprised a total of 231,773 patients of POI. The results showed that invariably, all the patients after gastrointestinal surgeries developed POI, but it was not restricted to it. POI was also seen after orthopedic surgery, with its incidence being maximum in patients undergoing spine and arthroplasty surgery. POI is multifactorial and is invariably an unavoidable cause in the postoperative period leading to increased morbidity and hospital stay. In order to deal with this, identifying the risk factors in a patient in the preoperative period, modifying the anesthesia technique, early mobilization, adequate pain management, recognizing the clinical signs and symptoms of ileus, and treating it promptly lead to achieving the optimal outcomes. The multimodal approach of management of POI is advisable.