ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Pediatr.
Sec. Pediatric Surgery
This article is part of the Research TopicApplication of Minimally Invasive Techniques in Gastrointestinal Diseases in ChildrenView all 4 articles
Acute Intestinal Obstruction in Children: A Comparison of Laparoscopic Treatment and Open Surgery
Provisionally accepted
- Shanghai Children's Hospital, Shanghai, China
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Objective: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of laparoscopic surgery for acute small bowel obstruction (SBO) in children. Methods: The retrospective study included children with acute SBO treated at Shanghai Children's Hospital from June 2014 to December 2023. Patients were categorized into two groups: those undergoing laparoscopic surgery and those undergoing open surgery, based on the operative approach. Perioperative variables, including operative time, fasting duration, hospital stay, and complication rates, were evaluated. The primary outcome was length of hospital stay. Categorical variables were compared using the χ² or Fisher's exact test, and continuous variables were analyzed using the t-test or Mann-Whitney U test, depending on data distribution. A P-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Forty patients underwent laparoscopic surgery, and an additional forty underwent open surgery. Laparoscopic procedures were completed in 29 patients (72.5%), while 11 required conversions to open surgery. Compared with open surgery, laparoscopy resulted in a shorter hospital stay (median, 7.0 vs. 9.5 days; P = 1.1e-5) and a shorter postoperative fasting period (median, 4.0 vs. 5.0 days; P = 0.011). A sensitivity analysis that excluded patients with a history of prior abdominal surgery still supported the overall findings and also showed a lower hospitalization cost in the laparoscopic group (median, 22,025.25 vs. 25,777.50 CNY; P = 0.013). Rates of intraoperative and postoperative complications were similar between groups. Conclusion: Laparoscopic surgery is a safe and effective option for pediatric acute SBO, offering faster recovery without increasing complication rates. It may be preferred for patients who are appropriately selected.
Keywords: Laparoscopy, Open surgery, acute small bowel obstruction (SBO), Intestinal adhesion, surgical outcomes
Received: 02 Sep 2025; Accepted: 01 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wu, Tan, lv, liu and sun. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: jun sun
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