Question:
What are adhesions, how common are they post-surgery?

I have heard adhesions mentioned several times in connection with past surgeries or weight loss surgeries. What exactly are adhesions, how common are they in someone who has had weight loss surgery, and what kind of problems can they cause? If adhesions do develop, is there any way of knowing they are there unless the patient has another surgery? Should I be at all concerned about this?    — Lynn K. (posted on August 4, 1999)

August 4, 1999
Adhesions are scar tissue. Some people are more prone to them than others. They are no more common in WLS than in any other surgery. If you develop them after WLS they can cause some problems like requireing to be scoped and dilated. The chances of this happening are slim because they are not common, they do happen though.
   — Donna D.

August 5, 1999
Adhesions form after any abdominal surgery. They are internal scarring. Some patients develop more adhesions than others. Very rarely do they cause symptoms like pain or bowel obstruction. You shouldn't be concerned about adhesions.
   — Joseph A.

January 22, 2003

   — Kristina J.