This may be a stupid question...but one that I have had on my mind lately, mainly because DH keeps asking me and I have no idea the answer.

Where does the gas go?:confused2:

I know my surgeon will put some kind of gas in my abdomin prior to surgery to make it easier to move around. Does anyone have any idea where that goes? Does it disappate through the body's organs/skin? I'm not sure how they would go about removing it.

Don't really know the answer - just wanted to wish you well for your operation.:thumbs_up:

It is my understanding, but don't quote me, that it gets absorbed by the intestines and you end up passing it like normal gas.

It is my understanding, but don't quote me, that it gets absorbed by the intestines and you end up passing it like normal gas.

That is my understanding too. You need to walk a lot to help get the gas moving.

Not all of the CO<SUB>2</SUB> introduced into the abdominal cavity is removed through the incisions during surgery. Gas tends to rise, and when a pocket of CO<SUB>2</SUB> rises in the abdomen, it pushes against the diaphragm (the muscle that separates the abdominal from the thoracic cavities and facilitates breathing), and can exert pressure on the phrenic nerve. This produces a sensation of pain that may extend to the patient's shoulders. For an appendectomy, the right shoulder can be particularly painful. In some cases this can also cause considerable pain when breathing. In all cases, however, the pain is transient, as the body tissues will absorb the CO<SUB>2</SUB> and eliminate it through respiration.

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I copied this from wikipedia for you!

Laparoscopic surgery - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is where I found the info hope it helps :thumbs_up:

Miss Wilde XX

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YOu will need to walk almost non stop to get it all out after surgery

Walking will make you feel better

It is all worth it

Good luck

Thanks everyone for the responses and support!

You're getting some absolute answers that aren't absolute. The surgeons remove what they can, but there's bound to be some left over. This doesn't cause everyone a problem (me, for example - two lap surgeries and no gas issues at all). So any "you will have to..." statements - ignore them, or salt them heavily at best. You will find that with everything band, there are very, very few absolutes or things that can be said as "for sure".

As for original question - yeah, absorption, dissipation to expulsion, etc.

It is like any gas, some of it goes out when they are finished with surgery - like if a balloon isn't tied, some of the helium is going to come out. The rest hangs around in your body and dissipates and some you pass the normal way. It really wasn't that big of a deal. I had very few gas pains and it wasn't like I was hugely blown up after surgery!

I guess I was a lucky one. I belched like a mad woman for 4 days straight.. and I mean BIG TIME BELCHES.. all the time. Like every 4 - 5 minutes. Sometimes I couldn't even lay down because the pressure in my chest to belch hurt so bad and I would have to sit up to belch for 8 seconds and then lay back down. I did walk too, but the belching for me is what got rid of all that extra gas. My DH said he'd never heard anything quite comparible... But, I hear some people can't belch.. I'm so glad I could.