adhesions
Last reviewed 01/2018
Adhesions occur where tissues become stuck to one another, usually as a result of some past insult or pathological process.
Adhesions often occur following abdominal surgery, and they may cause bowel obstruction either in the early or late postoperative period.
The adhesions that form early, often in the first postoperative week are often formed of fibrin and are termed fibrinous adhesions. These may be transient phenomena.
Adhesions that present months or years after surgery however, are more permanent and being formed of fibrous tissue, they are termed fibrous adhesions.