No abstract

The influence of certain surgical manoeuvres and incidents on the formation of postoperative peritoneal adhesions was analysed in an experimental study on 80 rats. The control group was made up of 10 animals receiving laparotomy and immediate closure. The remaining animals, also laparotomised, were divided into the following groups according to manoeuvre: simple exposure of the abdominal cavity; haemoperitoneum; intraperitoneal lavage; manipulation of the bowel loops, and foreign body. Peritoneal adhesions were quantified 30 days after laparotomy using an original method of the authors. All the groups presented a statistically significant increase in the rate of adhesions with respect to the controls (adhesion rate 3.00 ± 3.29). The increase was more marked in the foreign body (adhesion rate 14.5 ± 1.23), intestinal manipulation (adhesion rate 11.02 ± 1.68), and intraperitoneal lavage (adhesion rate 8.14 ± 1.56) groups.