b.) An adhesiolysis procedure can take many hours for the surgeon to complete - requiring great patience on the part of the surgeon. I have seen the video of a patient whose surgery took 10 hours!
c.) Surgery for adhesions is a very difficult task for the surgeon - requiring many hours of advanced training and experience in microsurgical procedures before a surgeon has developed the meticulous skills necessary in order to perform an adhesiolysis procedure.
d.) Currently, there are NO adhesion barriers that are 100% effective. For this reason many of the best surgeons have elected to NOT use adhesion barriers.
e.) With repeated surgeries it is very possible that De Novo (new) adhesions will develop - and previous adhesions will reform. When this happens, there can be a predictable increase in pain for the patient - as well as a predictable increase in adhesions.
f.) It is very difficult - if not impossible - for many surgeons to perform laparoscopic surgery for a person, who has had many prior surgeries. If you have had many surgeries, your best chance for success with an adhesiolysis procedure is with one of the surgeons, who are making a special effort to prevent the formation of adhesions. .
g.) Only a surgeon, who performs adhesiolysis procedures on a regular basis, is able to develop the skills and experience necessary to help their patient become as adhesion-free as possible. Even these adhesion specialists cannot guarantee that their patients will be adhesion-free following surgery!!
h.) If a mechanic can fix a car, it becomes easy to think a surgeon should be able to "fix" his/her patient by doing a surgical procedure. It is NOT that simple. It is a well known fact that each person's body is in charge of the healing that happens after a surgical procedure; and it is also a well known fact that each person's body heals differently!!
When a person doesn't have much knowledge about surgeons and the surgeries they perform, it is really easy to compare a surgeon to "a mechanic, who fixes a car!!" When I decided to request copies of all of my medical records and operative reports in 1996, I realized then that my belief about surgeons and surgery had been: If a mechanic can fix a car, the surgeon will be able to "fix" my chronic pain. Unfortunately, there is no comparison!!
When I agreed to have the laparotomy in 1970 - that had caused my adhesions - I thought surgery would be the answer; but because of my lack of knowledge about anatomy and surgery, I was seriously deluded. This is why I believe that self-education about ARD and everything related to ARD IS SO IMPORTANT!!
>From 1970 through 1996 I was a very passive person!! I trusted completely in the advice of medical professionals; and this led me to believe that the laparotomy in 1970 would provide the answer to my chronic pain; but that did NOT happen!!
When I requested all of my medical and surgical records in 1996, I was determined to search those records with the hope that I would find information that would help me find help for myself. I DID find a clue - but only one clue - that helped guide me on the path that led to my diagnostic laparoscopy in August 1997.
Love, Helen D.