Prevention of postsurgical adhesions with an autocrosslinked hyaluronan derivative gel

BACKGROUND: ACP gel is a new crosslinked derivative of hyaluronic acid (HA) that displays the biocompatibility properties of its original polymer but has a higher viscosity. It has been demonstrated in an animal model that the gel reduces adhesions after gynecological surgery. The aim of the present study was therefore to investigate the efficacy of ACP gel in increasing viscosity for the prevention of adhesions after abdominal surgery. METHODS: The antiadhesive effect of ACP gel was tested in a controlled randomized study using a standardized animal model of abdominal surgery involving the creation of defects in the parietal peritoneum and muscular fascia and cecal abrasion. The animals (100 female New Zealand white rabbits) were randomly allocated into five treatment groups to receive: ACP gel (1, 2, 4, and 6%) on the injured area or no ACP gel (control). The incidence of adhesions and their grade (score 0-11) were blindly evaluated 10 weeks after surgery. RESULTS: The percentages of adhesion-free animals were 60, 84, 90, and 84% in the 1, 2, 4, and 6% ACP gel concentration groups, respectively, versus 15% in the control group (P = 0.001). The mean adhesion scores were 3.00 +/- 0.91, 1.37 +/- 0.75, 0.65 +/- 0.45, and 1.16 +/- 0.64 in the 1, 2, 4, and 6% ACP gel groups, respectively, versus 7.70 +/- 0.83 in the control group (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: ACP gel prevents postsurgical abdominal adhesions even at a 1% concentration. This finding may be of clinical importance in situations in which large volumes of antiadhesive solution are required.