I firstly want to welcome you to this site, and secondly say how relieved I am to know that you are here! There seems to be a couple of very large holes in the information you have been given about your endometriosis, laporoscopic sugery & the formation of adhesions!
Natalie, I am the mother of four children, all girls and I almost lost my life during my hystorectomy surgery in February 2000. What THAT doctor failed to do was take my history into consideration when he planned the surgery in the first place.
Last year I had to relent, and undergo further surgery because adhesions had made another mess in my abdominal cavity which involved organs and my ovaries. The pathology showed that my ovaries were covered in endometriosis. I had been complaining about classic endo symptoms since I was a teen, but told to forget it, all women have a little pain with their period!
Since then I have done a lot of reading, asked others with endometriosis LOTS of questions and I have personal experiences of laperascopic & laparotomy surgeries.
Firstly, YES you can get adhesions from having laparoscopic surgery, however surgeons claim that the rate for adhesion formation is much lower that laparotomy surgery. I KNOW that I formed adhesions after my lapaoscopic surgery in February 2001.
Secondly, Endometriosis can trigger and stimulate the formation of adhesions/scar tissue because the endometriosis is considered as a "foreign body" within the abdominal cavity, so our immune system goes into "protection mode" of our organs and can and OFTEN produces extensive adhesions as a result of this disease.
Thirdly, you are correct in being a little reluctant to consider surgery if adhesions are a consideration in your case. I suggest that you do as much research as you can, ask as many questions as you can here and on the endo board, and in the mean time you should discuss a pain treatment plan with your doctor, as you DON'T have to suffer in pain while you decide what your next move is. I suppose part of your descision will take into account whether or not you wish to have more children, and if the surgery is required to enable that, then seek out SEVERAL opinions and ask each surgeon pointed questions about their personal success rates with surgery, ask when they last had a mistake during a surgery, causing complications for that patient.
I know that sounds very forward Natalie, but I can assure you that it is well within your rights, and any reasonably skilled and professional medical person would NOT be offended by such questions. I ask them now, and I get honest and straight forward/serious answers to my questions, and this helps me decide whether this is the right surgeon to perform the surgery required.
Adhesions is a very serious issue and complication, and if you are prone to them, you need a surgeon who believes that adhesions are serious, believes that adhesions cause pain AND that even after his/her surgical skills have completed your latest surgery, there is still a possibility that new adhesions will form, and that he/she is prepared to recommend a good pain clinic to help you build a pain control plan specifically for you.
Natalie, I have also started a new website called bombobeach.com and there you will find a section called "how to cope". There are many ways which you can manage and deal with your pain on a day to day basis and this will allow you the breathing space you need to make a well informed decision about any future surgery.
Natalie, if you would like to ask me any questions, please write to me at: joanne@bombobeach.com
love & gentle hugs Jo http://www.bombobeach.com
At Mon, 11 Feb 2002, Natalie wrote:
>
>Hi Everyone. I am so glad to have finally found this website. I have
>been on the OBGYN site for a while now, but I am hoping that you all can
>help me out some. I have undergone three surgeries in the last 7 years.
>(I am only 23) I have had endometriosis removed, a cyst and finally my
>ovary and left tube were removed last year. I have never been told that
>my endo. is really bad, but that I did have more with each surgery
>performed. I was able to get pregnant, and I have a beautiful 2 year
>old daughter, and now I also have a retroverted uterus that the doctor
>says is a result of my pregnancy (which I've heard is common). I do
>have pain with intercourse, but I also have back pain that at times is
>very painful. I also have a problem with constipation, which causes a
>bad stomach cramp every once in a while. I was sent to a gastro. doctor
>and he decided to do a colonoscopy...nothing found but he said that my
>colon is twisted and he thought it was scar tissue.....I told my ob-gyn
>about this and he says that I shouldn't have scar tissue because all of
>my surgeries were done by laporoscopy.. Does having a laporoscopy lower
>the chance of having scar tissue? I just don't want to go on with the
>very painful procedure to fix my uterus, if it's adhesions.
>Please help.
>Sorry this is so long, I just want advice..
>
>Sincerely,
>Natalie M.
-- I am not a medical person, and all my messages are based on personal experience. I am a fellow adhesions sufferer reaching out to help others.