61 patients with postoperative enterocutaneous fistulas of the small intestine, were admitted to the Intensive Care Unit from 1983 to 1989 and divided in two groups. Group A (n = 46) was treated with Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN), while B (n = 15) received a combination of TPN and Somatostatin. The reduction of fistula output was significantly greater in group B. Spontaneous closure was observed in 30.4% of the cases in group A and in 53.3% in group B. A significant difference in the time taken to close the fistula between group A and B (29.7 +/- 18 versus 11.1 +/- 1.6 days) was observed.