Twenty-one female rabbits underwent laparotomy and a standardized injury was produced on the right uterine horn and Fallopian tube. Following the injury eight animals were used as controls and thirteen were injected intrapertoneally with 50 ml. of 32 per cent dextran 70. Six weeks later the animals were killed and the adhesions graded. All control animals had dense adhersions of the injured areas to bowel or peritoneum. The dextran animals showed marked reduction in the extent and degree of adhesions. Possible mechanisms for these findings are discussed and the problems raised, by adhesion formation, to the gynecologist are reviewed.
PIP: 21 adult, nonpregnant, female rabbits (8 control, 13 treatment) underwent laparotomy under ether anesthesia through a midline incision with the use of sterile technique in an effort to examine the effects of 32% dextran 70 on intraperitoneal adhesion formation following injury to the upper genital tract. The 13 treatment rabbits were injected intraperitoneally with 50 millimeters of 32% dextran 70 following the injury. 6 weeks later the animals were killed and the adhesions were graded. All animals survived. The control group uniformly showed massive adhesions; the adhesions were dense and connected the injured genital structure to the bowel, bladder, or parietal peritoneum. The treatment group was markedly different from the control group. The dextran animals showed marked reduction in both the extent and degree of adhesions. The data suggest that 32% dextran 70 exerts a retarding effect on the formation of adhesions between injured surfaces. The implication, apropos hysteroscopic sterilization with the use of cautery and tubal reconstructive surgery, is potentially important and supports further research.