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Abdominal adhesions (scar tissue inside the belly): the symptoms, a blocked intestine, the tests, and treatment
For anyone with belly pain that keeps coming back after abdominal surgery, even years later; anyone told they have adhesions, or whose scan showed nothing; anyone worried about a blocked intestine; and anyone about to have belly surgery. It passes on, by name, what the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK, part of the NIH) says: what adhesions are, how common they are, who gets them, and the causes; the symptoms, a blocked intestine and when to get help right away, and infertility; the tests; treatment; and what surgeons do to lower the chance. It builds the words to say to your doctor, so you do not have to find them, and prints a card.
Right now
- Belly pain, and no gas, stool or fluids passing? Bloated and throwing up? NIDDK says these can be signs of a blocked intestine: seek medical attention right away; it can be life-threatening. NIDDK does not name 911. Ours: if you believe it is an emergency, call 911.
- Is it all too much, or is someone thinking of ending their life? Call or text 988, any hour (ours).
More help
- On this site: Belly and stomach: find the right page · Appendicitis · Constipation in adults · Short bowel syndrome.
- Related: Crohn’s disease · Diverticulosis and diverticulitis · Kidney failure: choosing a treatment · A lower GI series · When pain doesn’t go away.
- Getting ready: Symptom diary · Get ready for your appointment · When you need a doctor and can’t pay.
- In a crisis: Help right now (988, 911). All our free tools.
An upset stomach, and not sure this is the right page? The pages on this site for throwing up, diarrhea, heartburn and constipation, on one list.
Other guides on this site that go with this page
Free to read. We chose these ourselves; no professional did. Each guide was written with AI and has not been reviewed by a professional. They are general information, not advice.
- Inguinal hernia: a bulge in the groin, the signs that cannot wait, the tests, surgery, and after: inguinal hernia: a bulge in the groin or scrotum, who gets one, the signs of a stuck hernia that need help right away, the tests, surgery or watchful waiting, and after surgery.
- Ostomy surgery of the bowel: the stoma and the pouch, ileostomy, colostomy and the other types, getting ready, the pouch and the skin, food and daily life, and when to get help right away: ostomy surgery of the bowel (an ileostomy, a colostomy, a continent ileostomy or ileoanal pouch surgery): what a stoma is and why people need one; the types, temporary or permanent; getting ready and the surgery; the pouch and the skin, food, activity and feelings; and the signs that need help right away.
- Intestinal pseudo-obstruction: belly pain, bloating and vomiting with nothing blocking the intestines, the chronic and the sudden kind, the causes, the tests, treatment, and food: intestinal pseudo-obstruction: the signs, the chronic and the sudden kind, the causes, the tests, treatment, and food.
- Anatomic problems of the lower GI tract: a blocked, twisted or narrowed colon, intussusception, fistulas, rectal prolapse, and birth defects of the anus and rectum, the signs, who gets them, the tests, and treatment: anatomic problems of the lower GI tract: a blocked, twisted or narrowed colon, intussusception, fistulas, rectal prolapse, and birth defects of the anus and rectum.
This page and its wording were written with AI (Claude) for Scarlet Beast (our AI policy). No doctor or nurse has reviewed it. The facts were read on October 19, 2026 on NIDDK’s (NIH) page Abdominal Adhesions (last reviewed June 2019) and its Spanish page Adherencias abdominales (last reviewed June 2019), which say the same. The numbers (more than 9 out of every 10 people who have surgery that opens the abdomen; a majority with no symptoms or complications) are NIDDK’s. Ours: when to call 911 (NIDDK says to seek medical attention right away, and does not name 911); 988; the questions to ask; the links to our other pages; and the order of the steps. What we left out: the section on clinical trials, the journal articles NIDDK cites, and NIDDK’s links to other sites. We name no medicine, no dose and no brand of barrier. Nothing you tick or type here is saved or sent.