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How can adhesions be diagnosed?
- When the chronic pain of adhesions is involved, it is very difficult to be diagnosed correctly.
- Diagnostic tests such as blood tests, X-ray procedures, CT scans, MRIs, and Ultrasound will notdiagnose adhesions.
- However, your doctor will have to rule out other medical conditions; and depending upon your symptoms, your doctor will order the appropriate diagnostic tests.
- If the results of these tests are normal or negative for abnormal pathology, then a diagnostic laparoscopy may be appropriate.
- A diagnostic laparoscopy is the only test that can confirm the presence of adhesions and/or endometriosis.
- However, a diagnostic laparoscopy can be a "Catch 22 situation"; because surgery itself can cause adhesions to form.
- Doctors typically diagnose adhesions during a surgical procedure such as laparoscopy (putting a camera through a small hole into the stomach to visualize the organs).
- If they find adhesions, doctors usually can release them during the same surgery.
- Studies such as blood tests, x-rays, and CT scans may be useful to determine the extent of an adhesion-related problem.
- However, a diagnosis of adhesions usually is made only during surgery.
- A physician, for example, can diagnose small bowel obstruction but cannot determine if adhesions are the cause without surgery.