Severe chronic abdominal pain in the absence of adhesions

Management of the patient with chronic severe abdominal pain in the absence of adhesions remains one of the major challenges of the gastroenterologist. Given that extensive investigation will inevitably take place of such individual, the role of the gastroenterologist who is asked to review such a problem, is to identify unusual manifestations of common disorders from new, previously-unidentified causes, and to assess the degree to which somatisation and psychological overlay are exacerbating the problem. Investigations must be targeted against clinically-generated hypotheses rather than to repeat a non-systematic approach. Therapy in the absence of a newly-identified disorder is generally targeted at alleviating rather than removing symptoms, addressing an individual's personal pain and management needs, and avoiding ever more complex and invasive investigations.