Adhesions op or not?

[Mharhi]

Hi there- I have now been offered surgery to operate on adhesions which are causing me problems with partial small bowel obstruction. I spoke to the surgeon yesterday and he is going to do another test such as a barium meal x-ray, something like that then do laproscopic surgery on the adhesions (is hopeful it is just one small area causing the problem)

So, he is an experienced surgeon and tells me laproscopic surgeyr should not result usually in lots of adhesions and it should be a small op. However I've been looking online (maybe not a good idea) and is full of stories about people having repeat surgery for adhesions which makes things worse.

I wondered if I might get a more balanced view here, I did post once before about this and heard from someone who had suffered with a liquid diet and pain for years before an op which helped and had sorted things out.

Things are quite tricky at the moment as getting some pain/ bloating just with low fibre things and too scared to try anything much else as the full obstruction was just awful! I have read that less people are re-admitted with SBO after operative management versus conservative (NG Tube) so it must help I guess!

PS I asked about the use of adhesion barriers / solutions but he said none have proven significantly useful or cost effective over the years and they would only consider something like that if someone had a whole tummy of adhesions... (TBH am getting that opinion of NHS after treatment in recent times seems to be if it gets to an awful state then will do do something, rather than never letting it get to that stage in the first place!)

However DP and I were researching and saw this article about Adept solution being generally used and safe and although mostly in gyne surgery now for SBO adhesions too. If anyone has experience of this would love to hear about it.

Thank you

I think we may have 'spoken' before Mhari. Anecdotally, I had a full laparotomy for my troublesome adhesions and they haven't recurred. Prior to that I'd been hospitalised several times and had suspected partial obstructions that I managed at home (48 hours starvation usually settled it).

Difficult decision. My surgeon at the time certainly expected mine to recur but had no choice but to do the surgery that time as I was at risk of perforation and did have some ischaemic damage.

Hi there Saggarmakkers, Thanks for your message, yes it is a tricky one isn't it.

Yes sounds a bit like me with the partial situation, it's horrible!

I'm glad for you they haven't come back that must be a relief. It seems a bit unpredictable. I'm thinking the original ones came while healing during an infection which is meant to make it worse, then if in a controlled op might be better healing. It might be better doing it now rather than like as you say having ishemia, or infection

Waiting to see what the tests show up maybe that ill give them an idea, just now feel ill and in pain even when not eaten and it's quite tricky with the little ones.

Also Sash if you are still around, are you still waiting for your surgery or have you had it? Hope it went ok! As I remember it was from an appendix op a few years ago, and you also had a horrid trip into hospital.

I's trying to stay off the web with the stories of people mainly in America and their 'frozen abdomens'. Scary!

Not sure if I posted to you before.
Not sure also if I really understood your post.
So will just tell you what happened to me before anyway.
I had an appendix operation when I was 10.
I had suspected adhesions pain from the age of about 22 to 24.
I was given as operation at 25, which reopened my appendix wound,and removed many adhesions.
It cured all my pain, and I have not had adhesions since in the last 20 plus years.

hi amillionyears, sorry i just noticed another thread on adhesions, yes just asking about people who have done the surgery really.

I'm glad to hear a positive story from you too.

Do you know did your surgeon use an adhesion barrier at all or a solution called adept? Actually probably not if it was 20 years past...

Ive no idea about an adhesion barrier or adept.Not saying he did or didnt.Not sure id even remember tbh.
FWIW about 3 years ago I hurt my knees, had physio, and the physiotherapist just mentioned in passing that he thought I probably had adhesions inside the knees.I mentioned that I had an op for adhesions previously, and he said that would fit, that some patients are just more prone to adhesions than others.
My knees have never been quite right since I hurt them ,but dont have pain with them.

Hi. Hope u don't mind me asking but how are adhesions found/diagnosed? I have a DD(15) who had appendix out last year and subsequent infection. She now has pain in that area. Ultrasound scan found no sign of scar tissue - could it still be this? Appendix had moved up to behind bowel prior to being removed and partially ruptured. Sorry for gate crashing your post OP! Thanks for any advice.

Hi hellsbells I did some reading and when there is infection after such as rupture there is more chance of adhesions forming. They picked mine up on CT as had caused the bowel obstruction so they could see a transition point where the bowel was being compressed. i think otherwise it is more tricky to see, laproscopy being the main way can evaluate them. Does she have lain after eating especially or general pain? I wonder if you could ask your doctor to have her referred back to the surgeon who did the op as it was quite recent? Hope it goes well, maybe someone else might have better advice eg if had appendix op. Maybe the GP might be good for starters.

Sorry meant pain after eating not 'lain'!

adhesions/found diagnosed.In my case, and we are talking 20+ years ago,I had random pains for at least 2 years.People, including GP as far as I can remember thought it was trapped wind!
It was only because my pains carried on for so long, and work colleagues could see how regularly I was in pain, that I was persuaded to keep badgering the GP.Eventually saw a specialist.Cant actually remember what procedures were done.The specialist decided to do the operation anyway, without conclusive proof that it was adhesions.After the operation, he came and told me that there were loads of them!He had got rid of them all, or enough.No problem there since that day.