A primer to common major gastrointestinal post-surgical anatomy on CT—a pictorial review

Abstract

The post-operative abdomen can be challenging and knowledge of normal post-operative anatomy is important for diagnosing complications. The aim of this pictorial essay is to describe a few selected common, major gastrointestinal surgeries, their clinical indications and depict their normal post-operative computed tomography (CT) appearance. This essay provides some clues to identify the surgeries, which can be helpful especially when surgical history is lacking: recognition of the organ(s) involved, determination of what was resected and familiarity with the type of anastomoses used.