The pain should steadily get better over the next few weeks. You may be able to return to normal activities after 2 to 4 weeks. Your bowel movements may not be regular for several weeks. And you may have some blood in your stool. This care sheet gives you a general idea about how long it will take for you to recover. But each person recovers at a different pace. Follow the steps below to get better as quickly as possible.
Follow-up care is a key part of your treatment and safety. Be sure to make and go to all appointments, and call your doctor or nurse call line if you are having problems. It's also a good idea to know your test results and keep a list of the medicines you take.
Call anytime you think you may need emergency care. For example, call if:. Call your doctor or nurse call line now or seek immediate medical care if:. Watch closely for changes in your health, and be sure to contact your doctor or nurse call line if you have any problems. Author: Healthwise Staff. Care instructions adapted under license by your healthcare professional. If you have questions about a medical condition or this instruction, always ask your healthcare professional.
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Important Phone Numbers. Topic Contents Your Recovery How can you care for yourself at home? When should you call for help? Where can you learn more? Top of the page. Your Recovery You have had surgery to remove adhesions. How can you care for yourself at home? Rest when you feel tired. Getting enough sleep will help you recover. Try to walk each day. Start by walking a little more than you did the day before. Adhesions develop as the body attempts to repair itself.
This normal response can occur after surgery, infection, injury trauma or radiation. Adhesions may appear as thin sheets of tissue similar to plastic wrap, or as thick fibrous bands. Adhesions can affect the female reproductive organs ovaries, fallopian tubes , the bowel, the area around the heart, the spine and the hand. They can cause a range of problems including infertility, dyspareunia painful intercourse , pelvic pain and bowel obstruction or blockage.
Adhesions can also lead to a complex set of problems called adhesion-related disorder ARD. Adhesions are a widespread problem. Up to 93 per cent of people who have abdominal surgery go on to develop adhesions. Abdominal adhesions also occur in 10 per cent of people who have never had surgery. The incidence of adhesions has increased with the rise in gynaecological procedures.
Up to 90 per cent of women suffer post-operative adhesions following major gynaecological surgery. This is the body's normal response after:. Although most adhesions are painless and do not cause complications, adhesions cause 60 to 70 per cent of small bowel obstructions in adults and are believed to contribute to the development of chronic pelvic pain.
Adhesion-related disorder ARD is a group of symptoms that may occur as a result of adhesions. A person with ARD will usually experience chronic abdominal pain. Typical adhesions form within the first few days after surgery, but symptoms can last for months or even years. Symptoms may be mostly in one area of the abdomen, but are often generalised, vague, 'crampy' and difficult to define.
This means ARD can be difficult to diagnose. Symptoms of ARD may include:. Other intestinal problems may include constipation, obstruction, or alternating constipation with diarrhoea from partial obstruction. Women may experience gynaecological problems, which can add to the anxiety and self-esteem problems that may already be experienced by women who suffer with this disorder. Symptoms of ARD can be mistaken as a sign of another condition.
These can include a whole host of other possible diagnoses such as chronic fatigue syndrome, endometriosis, irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, depression and anxiety. It is very difficult to diagnose the chronic pain of adhesions correctly. Diagnostic tests such as blood tests, x-ray procedures, CT scans, MRIs and ultrasound will not diagnose adhesions. Hysterosalpingography an x-ray that views the inside of the uterus and fallopian tubes may help diagnose adhesions inside the uterus or fallopian tubes.
According to your symptoms, your doctor will order the appropriate diagnostic tests to rule out other medical conditions that may have similar symptoms. If the results of these tests are normal or negative for abnormal pathology, a diagnostic laparoscopy may be appropriate. This is the only test that can confirm the presence of adhesions.
Adhesions can occur anywhere in the body. But they often form after surgery on the abdomen. Almost everyone who has surgery on the abdomen gets adhesions. Some adhesions don't cause any problems. But when they partly or completely block the intestines , they cause symptoms such as. Adhesions can sometimes cause infertility in women by preventing fertilized eggs from reaching the uterus.
No tests are available to detect adhesions. Doctors usually find them during surgery to diagnose other problems. Some adhesions go away by themselves. If they partly block your intestines, a diet low in fiber can allow food to move easily through the affected area. If you have a complete intestinal obstruction, it is life-threatening.
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