pain after congenital perinoneal band division.

Hi I am a mother of a 14 year old who after many return visits to hospital with unknown abdominal pains had a division of a congenital abdominal band.

The relief after which was tremendous for him. However three weeks later he has just been discharged after another four night stay in hospital following more acute abdominal pain.

No diagnosis was given and the pain subsided. He is type 1 diabetic.

Could this be adhesions forming?

It is a bit early I think? We're frightened they will reoccur and more school will be missed in this important 1st GCSE year.


Dear 14 Year Old's Mum,

I can only imagine the distress that could arise following a recent surgery to supposedly correct an ongoing problem and then having the symptoms coming back within weeks.

I agree with you. It is rather too early for a post op adhesion to form and cause problems. It is possible that the congenital peritoneal band might not be the cause of the abdominal pain in the first place. It is however certainly the right thing to do, to remove it, as there is no way of telling if it is what is causing his abdominal pain.

Going forward, what is his pain like usually? Has other causes of pain at this age been excluded, including abdominal migraines? Does anyone in the family (especially mum or dad) suffer with migraines? If yes, has a preventative medicine like pizotifen been tried? What about tests for coeliac disease? One negative test does not exclude coeliac. He might need repeating it a number of times after been on wheat rich food for at least 6 weeks.

What is he like previously before the onset of the abdominal pains? Is he an outgoing happy chap? Has there been recent or ongoing significant family disruptions or issues with bullying in school? Does he sleep well?

I believe it is very likely that these issues would have been looked into before going the way of surgery. If not extensively, then it is not too late to do so now.

Diabetes do cause abdominal pain, but that is if the sugar level becomes too high and uncontrolled for a long time. I do not think his abdominal pain is related to his diabetes.

I will suggest you request to see a paediatric gastroeneterologist for further assessment and management.

Please feel free, meanwhile, to come back to us, should you have further information, query or concerns and we would be more than happy to let you know our thoughts.

I sincerely pray that the cause of your son's recurrent abdominal pain be found in good time and cured.

Thank you once more for visiting us today, here at abdopain.com.


Dr O Edema MD MRCGP CCFP MSc DRCOG
Family Physician and WebMD
Abdopain.com