Thanks to Bev. (bnb@cybrzn.com)I have actually viewed a couple of videos in which the person's intestines looked as though they had been " welded together."
Bev. sent me three different videos of actual adhesiolysis procedures...her own video being one of them. Bev's surgery took 5 hours to complete! The adhesiolysis of a friend of hers took 9 hours to complete! So I can visualize what you are talking about. As an adhesion sufferer myself, I am very familiar with the pain that adhesions can cause.
I suggest that you request a copy of your 16 year old daughter's surgery as well as all surgical and pathological reports from her previous surgery and this surgery. You have a right to ask for copies of these records. They comprise a part of your daughter's medical history.
Your question is: "even if her bowel does not obstruct again, is she going to be living with constant pain?" I assume that her physician will prescribe adequate medication during her recuperation, which will ease her pain.
After she has sufficiently recovered from her surgery - and if her pain continues for 6 months or more - then she may need to seek Pain Management at a Pain Clinic. Let's just hope and pray that she will be one of the lucky ones!!
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At Mon, 17 Apr 2000, Amy wrote:
My daughter, who has Crohn's Disease, recently underwent surgery for a small bowel obstruction caused by adhesions from a subtotal colectomy performed a few weeks ago. What was to be an hour long surgery turned into 9 hours, as the surgeon discovered her entire small bowel was covered with adhesions. His description was that it was as if someone had "welded" her small bowel all together. She now has a tube (shunt) running through her entire small bowel (which is now 2 feet shorter due to previous surgery and this one) which will allow the bowel to stay open as the adhesions inevitably form again. My question is, even if her bowel does not obstruct again is she going to be living with constant pain? Certainly she was in pain before they even discovered an obstruction, as the x-rays and Upper GI's did not show obstruction immediately, and she was in excrutiating pain for over a week before diagnosed. I'm trying to do all the research I can on adhesions etc. and I am not encouraged :( Has anyone ever heard of adhesions forming to this extent? Surgeon said he had seen cases "as bad" as my daughter's, but none worse.. not encouraging, either.