Acute diarrhea during pelvic irradiation: is small-bowel volume effect different in gynecologic patients with prior abdomen operation or not?

Age and operation can change small-bowel distribution. Prior operation may attenuate diarrhea if irradiated volume of small bowel is small. There is a volume effect in post-operative rather than non-operative patients receiving large-field irradiation. More practical dose-volume evaluation of small bowel may be applied for volume effect in gynecologic patients without prior operation.