Surgical Adhesions: Implications for Women's Health: Part One of a Two-Part Series

Postoperative adhesions are a significant health problem, with major implications for quality of life and health care expenses. Intra-abdominal adhesions occur in 55 percent to 100 percent of women following abdominal or pelvic surgery, and the risk of adhesion formation increases with each subsequent abdominal and pelvic surgery. The small bowel is the most common site of adhesions following gynecologic surgery. Adhesions are increasingly being recognized as major contributors to chronic pelvic pain, infertility and gastrointestinal problems.