[Does laparoscopic lysis of adhesions make sense?]

Between May 1989 and December 1991 23 patients were operated on laparoscopically for symptomatic peritoneal adhesions. 19 were followed up by telephone using a standardized questionnaire an average of 18.3 months post-operatively (range 5-36 months). 12 patients were totally painfree, 3 complained of slight pain, 2 patients of fairly severe and 2 of severe pain. 15 patients considered the outcome of the operation to be good or fairly good and 18 said they would undergo the same operation in similar circumstances. We therefore recommend laparoscopic adhesiolysis in cases of acute or chronic abdominal pain, provided other causes of abdominal discomfort have been ruled out.