Take Steps to Prevent the Formation of Adhesions. (Use Of Barriers Seems Effective).

PALM BEACH, FLA. -- Taking steps to prevent postsurgical adhesion formation is vital, because trying to remove them later probably won't help much, Dr. Eric Bieber said at an ob.gyn. meeting sponsored by the University of Chicago.

"The vast majority of your gynecology patients are likely to develop adhesions after surgery, and if you do a second procedure to remove those adhesions, you could end up making the situation worse. That's why we truly need to improve the strategies that we have to reduce adhesions in the first place," said Dr. Bieber, director of reproductive endocrinology at the university.

Adhesions can can form at the very site where previous adhesions have just been removed.

"The adhesions that form at sites other than where the surgery occurred may have to do with trauma that isn't realized at the time of surgery. Merely moving organs around may subtly traumatize them and in some way devitalize them and allow adhesion formation to occur," he said in an interview.

Adhesions have been linked to several complications, including infertility, bowel obstruction, chronic pelvic pain, additional surgery, and increased reoperative difficulties.

He said it is difficult to assess noninvasively whether adhesions could be responsible for a patient's complaints, but ultrasound could provide a few clues. Sometimes on ultrasound, CT, or MRI, "you may see fluid or bands of tissue ...