Methods of intraoperative assessment of intestinal viability

Intraoperative viability assessment of ischemic bowel is essential to ascertain the limits of resection, thus avoiding complications such as anastomotic leakage and stenosis, and the unnecessary resection of intestine capable of surviving. Clinical features of bowel viability, which include color, visible vessel unreliable to estimate the length of intestine which can recover from the ischemia. As a consequence, several techniques have been developed to assess intestinal perfusion at the time of operation. In this paper, we analyze the last six years (1989-1994) of the available world literature concerning the methods of intraoperative assessment of bowel viability.