Couple years post take-down...
I have experienced a pain/stretching sensation in my mid-abdomen. Its not very painful, but definitely disconcerting. It happens sometimes after I eat a larger meal, but also happens at other times. I can feel it in a very distinct spot across my abdomen. Any ideas what this could be? Is it a something I should be worried about?
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I'd guess it's an adhesion getting pulled. At this level of nuisance I'd ignore it.
I didn't know what an abdominal adhesion was, so I looked it up. One source says after abdominal surgery, 93% of patients develop abdominal adhesion, so that I have an adhesion but am a little worried that they can cause abdominal obstructions. How will I know if an adhesion becomes an issue?
Paula, the glib answer is you'll know if you have an issue. The behavior of adhesions depends on where they form. There's no point in worrying about them. Most people never get obstructed from their adhesions.
Yup. Agree with Scott completely. You won't really know about them until they cause a problem. Unfortunately, adhesions are not well visualized on regular imaging tests, such as x-ray or MRI. According to my surgeon, they can sometimes be seen on CT scan, but that is also not foolproof. I've known I've had adhesions since my second surgery, because my surgeon had to cut them down to form the pouch. Unfortunately for me, they did cause a problem, though not until years later; I had a series of partial obstructions in 2014. My troublesome adhesions are at the old stoma site, which is unfortunately relatively common according to my surgeon. We're managing those conservatively now.
There really isn't much in the way of treatment for adhesions. Surgery can be performed for more severe adhesions causing pain and frequent obstructions, but the drawback of adhesion surgery is - ironically - the risk of developing more adhesions, so this is not usually the first course of action. Typically, as in my case, the treatment is managing conservatively with dietary modifications (avoiding roughage foods more likely to cause a blockage) and regular follow up/monitoring. I also do self massage of the area. There are also some alternative therapies such as ART, which is abdominal massage performed by an RMT or chiropractor. This doesn't eliminate the adhesions as much as it supposedly "softens" the scar tissue, which makes it less likely that the gut will twist or kink due to the adhesions. However, you'd have to find qualified therapist who is familiar specifically with abdominal adhesions - in my research, I've found that most performing ART are doing shoulder release after surgery; obviously abdominal adhesions are in a whole other ballpark so you'd have to do your research if you choose to go this route.
