The prevention of experimentally induced postoperative adhesions.

For many years, various substances have been used to prevent postoperative adhesions, with suboptimal effectiveness. Saline has been postulated to have a positive effect, but it is reabsorbed from the abdominal cavity within 24 hours. To determine whether a longer-lasting intraperitoneal solution would be effective in preventing postoperative adhesions, 36 rats were divided into three groups: in 15 rats, a 2.5 per cent hyperosmolar solution of peritoneal dialysis fluid was injected intraperitoneally immediately following exploratory laparotomy, which included traumatization of the intestinal serosa at two sites; in 12 rats, normal saline was injected by the same procedure; and in 9 rats, no fluid was injected after the same operation. After 3 weeks, the group receiving the hyperosmolar peritoneal dialysis solution achieved the best results in both sites, the group that received normal saline showed marginal improvement, and the control group fared the worst.