Adhesions/Gall Bladder...I Need Some Advice
From: Rhonda R. White (samuels1@us.net)
Sun Nov 28 20:10:03 1999
Questions are at the end.
I recently had a HIDA Scan which showed that my gall bladder doesn't
excrete. In October I had a laparoscopy to remove pelvic adhesions.
While the gyn was doing the lap, she told me that my liver & gall
bladder were covered with adhesions. So bad that she couldn't even see
the organs. Because I had limited her to the laprascope, she couldn't
take those adhesions down. When I relayed the gyn's findings to my
primary, she said I needed a general surgeon. The general surgeon says
that she doesn't take down adhesions without a bowel obstruction, which
I don't have. She says she absolutely won't bother the adhesions, and
will only bother them (as few as necessary) if they get in the way of
her removing my gall bladder laprascopically. She also says that my
pain covers a larger area than just from my gall bladder and that for
that reason, she's not sure that my gall bladder is the sole (or even a
part) source of my pain.
I also gathered from my gyn, that while my adhesions had re-formed, they
weren't nearly as severe as they had be during a previous surgery
meaning that I didn't get any new ones and that the ones that had grown
back weren't as bad as they had been. This gives me hope that if
perhaps much care is taken then to remove my adhesions in the upper
right quadrant, they won't grow back; and if they do, it won't be as
severe. Because I want to avoid having surgery again for as long as
possible, I want to have my gall bladder removed as well as having the
adhesions taken down. That way, I'm covering all the bases.
I don't have much experience in dealing with insurance companies but I'm
wondering how much success I can expect with Cigna (HMO) in getting them
to allow me to have 2 surgeries at the same time. Can a gyn remove my
gall bladder? Liklihood of getting a gyn & a general surgeon to work
together? Can anyone recommend any good surgeons in the Washington,
D.C. area? Finally, I've noticed that all of the doctors who seem to
care anything about adhesions are gynecologists. Am I imagining that?
If not, why are gynecologists the only ones who seem to work on
adhesions?
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