Is Abdominal Surgery Another Way to Get IBS?

In a study published in the January issue of the journal Gastroenterology, a group of researchers showed that almost 3% of healthy patients with only gynecological problems who underwent gynecological surgery developed post-operative IBS. None of the control group, whose members did not get surgical intervention, developed IBS. Among those in the group who had surgery, the rate of abdominal pain without change in bowel habits a few months after surgery was 17%, which was significantly higher than control group. Although the rate of development of IBS after surgery in this study was very low and was not statistically different from control group, The finding of this study is another example of how a traumatic bodily event such as surgery or a bowel infection can translate into a chronic functional gastrointestinal pain problem in the form of IBS. Gastroenterology, Jan. 15, 2008
2008-01-16 14:24:26