ABSTRACT
The surgical correction of congenital duodenal obstruction was made difficult by a lack of appropriate suture material and the lack of understanding of the perioperative care needs of neonates. By the middle of the twentieth century, enteroenterostomy, typically using a retrocolic, side-to-side duodenojejunostomy, became the standard operation for this problem. Improved perioperative care of the sick neonate resulted in many survivors. More recently, duodenoduodenostomy has been used to bypass congenital duodenal obstruction in an effort to hasten the return of intestinal function after surgery and to promote duodenal emptying. Duodenoduodenostomy may be performed in either a standard side-to-side fashion or in an eccentric fashion commonly known as the ‘diamond duodenoduodenostomy’. Video-endoscopic techniques for treating congenital duodenal obstruction are gaining popularity.
