| Adhesions
An adhesion is a band of scar tissue that binds 2 parts of your tissue together. They should remain separate. Adhesions may appear as thin sheets of tissue similar to plastic wrap or as thick fibrous bands.
The tissue develops when the body's repair mechanisms respond to any tissue disturbance, such as surgery, infection, trauma, or radiation. Although adhesions can occur anywhere, the most common locations are within the stomach, the pelvis, and the heart.
Abdominal adhesions: Abdominal adhesions are a common
complication of surgery, occurring in up to
93% of people who undergo abdominal or pelvic
surgery. Abdominal adhesions also occur in
10.4% of people who have never had surgery.
- Most
adhesions are painless and do not cause
complications. However, adhesions cause
60%-70% of small bowel obstructions in
adults and are believed to contribute
to the development of chronic pelvic pain.
- Adhesions
typically begin to form within the first
few days after surgery, but they may not
produce symptoms for months or even years.
As scar tissue begins to restrict motion
of the small intestines, passing food
through the digestive system becomes progressively
more difficult. The bowel may become blocked.
- In
extreme cases, adhesions may form fibrous
bands around a segment of an intestine.
This constricts blood flow and leads to
tissue death.
Pelvic adhesions: Pelvic
adhesions may involve any organ within the pelvis,
such as the uterus, ovaries, fallopian tubes,
or bladder, and usually occur after surgery. Pelvic
inflammatory disease (PID) results from an infection
(usually a sexually transmitted disease) that
frequently leads to adhesions within the fallopian
tubes. A woman's eggs pass through her fallopian
tubes into her uterus for reproduction. Fallopian
adhesions can lead to infertility and increased
incidence of ectopic pregnancy in which a fetus |
