Wangensteen3 pointed out that the judicious use of tube decompression in certain cases of intestinal obstruction, and in the preparation of others for surgery, is an important factor in the management of this condition. Becker1 has shown how the abuse and misuse of such therapy can lead to disastrous results. Our desire to find out our results in the surgical cases led us into this study. Material A total of 277 cases in which operation was performed at our surgical department from Jan. 1, 1947, to Dec. 31, 1955, were reviewed. Most of these patients lived in the San Juan metropolitan area. Included in this study are all types of intestinal obstruction in which operation was done with or without preoperative decompression and the diagnosis was proved either at operation or at autopsy. Cases which were treated by decompression alone are excluded, as their number in the years