Irritable bowel syndrome and abdominoplasty.

Irritable bowel syndrome is a chronic disease involving pain or discomfort relieved by defecation and associated with a change in frequency or consistency of the stools. The effect of abdominoplasty on patients with irritable bowel syndrome has not been elucidated, so advising patients with irritable bowel syndrome about the effects of surgery on their disease was difficult. One hundred female patients from a pool of 120 patients responded to a questionnaire relating to abdominoplasty surgery. Follow-up ranged from 6 months to 2 years. Patients completed questionnaires formulated on the basis of Rome II Diagnostic Criteria. Of the 100 patients, nine had true irritable bowel syndrome, nine had moderate symptoms and were receiving medication (not true irritable bowel syndrome), 16 had mild symptoms on occasional medication, and 66 had no symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome before surgery. Of the true irritable bowel syndrome patients, all had symptomatic improvement with decreased medication, eight of the nine patients with moderate symptoms improved markedly, and five of the 16 patients with mild symptoms improved significantly. No patient had any initiation or deterioration of symptoms. It is thus concluded that the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome are certainly not worsened, in the short term, by surgery, and may be alleviated or improved in most significant cases.