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Dr. Andrew Rynne

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What Is An Omentum And What Is Its Function?

I was hospitalized recently with peritonitis , not septic, but they said my cat scan showed something in my fatty tissue, they said it was my omentum, it was inflamed, maybe infected, possibly a portion of it could be dead. I'm very confused. What is an omentum and what is its function? They gave me intravaneous antibiotics and some prescription antibiotics to take at home. They said they don't know what causes this to happen. What am I looking at as far as future prognosis? Will this go away on its own? It's very painful and difficult to stand up straight which is what my job requires for eight hours.
posted on Thu, 30 Jan 2014
Twitter Thu, 30 Jan 2014 Answered on
Twitter Thu, 30 Jan 2014 Last reviewed on
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General Surgeon,  's  Response
Hi,

Thanks for writing to HCM.

Omentum is a fold of peritonium (covering of abdomen) with fat in between the folds...it acts as a cushion and gardian of abdominal organs...its main purpose is to restrict infection to the area of origin by surrounding... its also called as policeman of abdomen...its not very much necessary for survival and can be sacrificed if needed...you need to take full course of antibiotics and yes its a treatable condition... take analgesics for pain relief along with a ppi to prevent gastritis..

If the infection dosent subsides you need to undergo surgery to remove the diseased part.

Dr. Ashish Verma
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What Is An Omentum And What Is Its Function?

Hi, Thanks for writing to HCM. Omentum is a fold of peritonium (covering of abdomen) with fat in between the folds...it acts as a cushion and gardian of abdominal organs...its main purpose is to restrict infection to the area of origin by surrounding... its also called as policeman of abdomen...its not very much necessary for survival and can be sacrificed if needed...you need to take full course of antibiotics and yes its a treatable condition... take analgesics for pain relief along with a ppi to prevent gastritis.. If the infection dosent subsides you need to undergo surgery to remove the diseased part. Dr. Ashish Verma