At Sun, 2 Jul 2000, Sherry Marie wrote:
Hi Stevie, My problems with adhesions started when I was 29 or 30 years old. I had a tubal ligation and guess what happened? I had a tubal pregnancy that ruptured. This started my many problems from adhesions. I am 41 yrs. old and have had 7 abdominal surgeries. My intestines were punctured during lysis of extensive adhesions esp. on my bowels. I hemorrhaged and had 3 blood transfusions. I have had acute bowel obstructions and suffer from partial obstructions often. I had my TAH about a year and a half ago. I also had an appendectomy and extensive lysis of adhesions which were everywhere again. At my insistance my surgeon used Seprafilm adhesion barrier. My last two laparotomies were only 6 months apart. It has been close to two years since my last surgery. Yes, the aliens(adhesions) are back but in my case I feel the barrier did slow down the formation of adhesions. I know that the barriers appear to be one of the most promising methods of adhesion prevention not a cure.
THIS IS EXCELLENT ADVICE!!!...Your surgeon needs to use microsurgical techniques that minimize trauma, ischemis, foreign bodies, hemorrhage, raw surfaces and infection to reduce adhesion formation. Important surgical practices include: minimization of tissue handling, use of delicate insturments, use of magnification and constant wetting of all tissues. Adhesions can lead to a variety of complications which include pelvic pain, infertility, bowel obstruction and prolonged operative and recovery times. We have to be informed, take charge to find a doctor who is sympathetic to our needs and utilize a support system. The the thing that has given me the most comfort is knowing that I am not alone. Sherry Marie