What are "encased" bowels?

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"Encased bowels" is a term that surgeons use to describe an unusual layer of tissue covering or binding the small and/or large intestine. Most commonly, the encased appearance is caused by scar tissue (adhesions) from previous abdominal surgeries. These adhesions may be very extensive and involve several loops of intestine. If the adhesions are severe and could possibly lead to bowel obstruction, the surgeon may decide to cut (lyse) the adhesions to free up the bowels.

Cancer may also lead to encasement of bowels in the abdominal cavity. Certain tumors (stomach cancer, ovarian cancer) may spread throughout the abdominal cavity and cover various organs there. Since the small and large intestines occupy a large share of the abdominal cavity, a malignant growth in this area frequently involves those organs. There is generally no effective treatment for a large tumor encasing the bowels, and obstruction is very likely to follow. In such cases, the cancer is likely so advanced that the patient has only a short time left to live. In such circumstances, therapy is typically aimed at making the person as comfortable and pain-free as possible.