Enterotomy is the surgical incision into an intestine. It may be purposeful or a complication of an abdominal surgery, such as exploratory laparotomies or hernia repair. An enterotomy can be done to remove an obstruction or foreign body from the intestine.

How is an Enterotomy performed?

Enterotomy is performed immediately distal to the foreign material. Intestine is walled off the abdominal cavity to prevent leakage of intestinal content inside the abdominal cavity. The incision on the antimesenteric border should be long enough to extract the foreign body without tearing the intestine.

What is an Enterotomy Veterinary?

Definition: an incision into the lumen of a segment of small intestine. Indications: foreign body removal, full thickness intestinal biopsy, linear foreign body removal.