Question:
Why would a patient experience severe bloating and stomach distention post op?

4/12/02 Hi! I'm 7 wks post op with an "open" incision. My cousin had the laproscopic version on Monday April 8th. She had a leak in the small intestine. The surgeon ran tests and hoped it would self seal. Last night her stomach became distended, extremely bloated and painful and they did another surgery to fix the leak, but this time they did an open incision. Why the severe gas or bloating?    — Lisa N. (posted on April 13, 2002)

April 13, 2002
I kinda lost the sequence. She was bloated before they fixed the leak? Or after they fixed it? Sounds like before, so that could be peritonitis. My dh had a post-op leak and as his abdominal cavity filled with fluid & infection, that was one of the things that occured. BTW, he is fine now!
   — vitalady