Internal Scar Tissue Is Ruining My Life!

Jess. I know this is a prior post. I am so happy that things are working out for you. I have had 5 ceaserians and I am reaching out to any one who has been successful with having scar tissue removed after ceaserians.

Hi all

I’m sorry you are all going through this.  I had bad pain a week ago in the right side of my abdomen. And swelling.  I went to the ER. They said they saw free air/ indicating that there was a hole in my intestines.  They went in by scopes. 4 of them. Surgeon could not find the hole. But he said he saw a lot of scar tissue from my spleen being removed in 95. He said the scar tissue had fused my gallbladder- Stomach- and intestines together.  So he broke up the scar tissue and separated the other organs giving the stomach more room.  A week later I am swelled up and can’t eat anything.  I feel like a stuffed turkey.  Is that normal please. Very uncomfortable in SD

Hi Jess,

I'm not sure how long ago your post was written, though I would like to respond now. It may help others with adhesion issues.

A little background about my situation.3-1/2 years ago, c-diff destroyed my colon, and my entire colon was removed in emergency surgery. I ended up with an ostomy bag, which bypassed my poop. This allowed my small intestine to rest for several months. Eventually, my small intestine was connected to a pouch, and my hated ostomy bag was removed. This "reversal" surgery involved two laparotomies. A laparotomy is abdominal surgery with a large incision. After a few months, I started having terrible abdominal pain. My surgeon at the time, blew it off, and said he had no idea what was causing the pain, and didn't seem to care.

Each day, my gut hurt more and more. Out of desperation, I began searching for help online. I eventually came across the subject of adhesions. The more I read, the more I identified. I learned that doctors don't like to talk about adhesions, and surgeons want nothing to do with them. This because adhesions are difficult to remove, and usually grow back. Adhesions cannot be detected by imaging, and there are currently no tests available to detect them. the only way to confirm adhesions is with surgery.

I asked three surgeons to go in with a laparoscope, and verify I have adhesions, and how many. All three refused. The pain was getting do bad, I couldn't stand it. I was getting desperate. On the internet, I found a doctor in Germany who specializes in adhesiolysis. He claimed that he could laprascopically remove all adhesions. We prepaid $25,000, and travelled from Florida to Germany for the procedure. During the surgery, my small intestine was punctured in four places, and I was taken by ambulance, with siren screaming, to a larger hospital. After two emergency laparotomy surgeries to repair my intestine, I was stuck in that horrible German hospital for weeks.

Yes, my adhesions had been removed, but the emergency surgeries caused them to grow back even more densely. I returned home to Florida in more pain than ever. The chronic pain became so bad, I became depressed and considered suicide. I recovered mentally, but continued my search for pain relief. I was being prescribed Percocets plus started on medical marijuana for relief. since then, I have found a few surgeons in the USA who were willing to tackle my adhesions.

In Pennsylvania, I had two separate robotic surgeries to remove my adhesions. Both times, they grew back. Last November, I was hospitalized for 32 days with bowel obstructions. These obstructions were caused by my adhesions pulling intestinal loops closed. During that hospital admission, I had two major surgeries to again remove my adhesions. After a few months, they grew back. 3 months ago, I convinced my surgeon to again open my abdomen completely, remove all adhesions, and cover everything with Seprafilm. Seprafilm is a barrier sheet that is intended to retard new adhesion growth. Adhesions can begin to regrow within hours of a surgery, so these barriers were important. Unfortunately, they were never used in my prior surgeries.

I anxiously am waiting to see if the adhesions will again grow back. Maybe I will be able to get my life back, and begin to enjoy the activities that I miss so much. During the past 3-1/2 years, I have been hospitalized for a total of 240 days, and have had 18 surgeries including 9 laparotomies. Most people who have had abdominal surgery have adhesions. A very small percentage feel pain from them. I am not only one of the unlucky ones, my adhesions have been amazingly dense and chronically painful. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. It just plain hurts.

does anyone notice if their outside scars seem to be raised and thick? like hypertrophic? i had a surgery to remove endo and an adeno lesion from my uterus and started having crippling pelvic pain post surgery. my scars are raised and thick. im wondering if that indicates dense internal adhesions. i am pregnant now and it seems as my uterus has grown and stretched out possible scar tissue the pain in my lower belly is gone. however i still have pain in my bowels above my belly button and on the sode and im not sure whether it is due to adhesions or ibs. i had bowel pain before surgery too and was hoping that aould improve but it didnt and they didnt find any endo on my bowels. i have to have a c section for this pregnancy and i am scared of developing MORE adhesions if i tend to get them easily and get pain from them. i had tried serrapeptase before the surgery and afterwards and im not sure if that increased my bleeding which made my recovery and adhesion development more pronounced? maybe not. i am very interested in the peripheral nerve pain surgery - i had never heard of that.