Ali,
There are sit-ups and sit-ups...they are not all the same. I do tons of abdominal exercises but none of them look like the sit-ups we did in highschool. I do 1/2 and 1/4 crunches, knees bent or legs in the air and raise my upper body up only a few inches (6-10)...and hold. I breath deeply and lower...I also work with a swiss ball doing the exercises that you find on the net or draping my legs over the ball and raising my pelvis up. I also 'swim' with my legs while laying flat on the ball and using my hands for balance.
I hold a soccer ball between my knees and raise my legs up while laying on the floor (squeeze the knees a bit)....I have also found that tightening my abs while climbing stairs is really effective.
Its been 6months since the last surgery 18 since the last hernia repair and things are finallys starting to tighten up in there...do not fear doing abs, just avoid bending your body in half when you do them...
Sharon

I used to have intermittent bowel obstructions - indeed painful and frustrating - but after surgery to lyse adhesions I'v been (total) obstruction free for 15 years, although I do have partial obstructions on and off. Dr. Dietz encouraged me to have the strongest abdominal muscles possible. So as part of my workout routine I do 200-250 sit ups each morning and haven't had them cause an obstruction. Of course each of us is different; maybe start slowly and see what happens.

While sitting anywhere (driving, watching tv, on the computer, etc.) you can squeeze your ab muscles and release and squeeze and release as much as tolerated. This is like a sit up but not actually crunching!

Wow, you all are very impressive and very encouraging for sure.
Thank you all very much for replying. I'm gonna start out w/ mini crunches and go from there. Given the fact that my stomach looks like a road map of the NYC subways with having had several abdominal incisions, not to mention of course the "bandaid", I doubt a bikini will ever grace this bod but at least I'll feel more confident now in trying to strengthen those muscles w/o causing problems to the system.
Thanks Again,
Ali

I do sit ups and use a Rogue Abmat. Supports the lower back. I only do full sit ups, never crunches.