Diagnostic laparoscopy and adhesiolysis: does it help with complex abdominal and pelvic pain syndrome (CAPPS) in general surgery?

Abdominal pains secondary to adhesions are a common complaint, but most surgeons do not perform surgery for this complaint unless the patient suffers from a bowel obstruction. The purpose of this evaluation was to determine if lysis of bowel adhesions has a role in the surgical management of adhesions for helping treat abdominal pain. The database of our patients with complex abdominal and pelvic pain syndrome (CAPPS) was reviewed to identify patients who underwent a laparoscopic lysis of adhesion without any organ removal and observe if they had a decrease in the amount of abdominal pain after this procedure.