Abnormalities of rotation of the bowel

Abstract

1. 1. Fifty-seven cases of malrotation which are in the records of the Children's Orthopedic Hospital in Seattle, Washington are presented. 2. 2. The embryology and pathology of malrotation is discussed. 3. 3. Vomiting bile-stained material dating from birth, or soon after, is the most frequent symptom. 4. 4. Associated congenital anomalies were present in 27 per cent of our cases, the most common being those of the cardiovascular system. 5. 5. Recurrent volvulus after the conventional Ladd operation is an important postoperative complication (7 per cent). 6. 6. Constipation is a persistent complaint in 16 per cent of the thirty cases followed from six months to seventeen years. 7. 7. The over-all mortality in this series is high, being 35.6 per cent. When deaths from other congenital abnormalities and from cases which were moribund on admission are excluded, the mortality becomes 17 per cent.