Authors' recommendations: Postoperative adhesions after abdominal surgery occur in more than 90% of patients. Although adhesions are often not associated with complications, they may cause sequelae such as small bowel obstruction, chronic abdominal pain, and infertility requiring repeat surgery. Small bowel obstructions are among the most common and most severe complications after abdominal surgery, accounting for 30% to 44% of the abdominal reoperation rate. Small bowel obstruction is a lifetime risk for a patient after abdominal and pelvic surgery, increasing from 9% within the first year after surgery to 19% by 4 years and 35% by 10 years. In the United States, postoperative adhesion procedures resulted in more than 350,000 hospitalizations, nearly 1 million days of inpatient care in 2005, and a cost of $2.3 billion. Basic preventive strategies involve minimizing surgical trauma by using appropriate techniques and instrumentation, opting for the least invasive technique, and avoiding the introduction of foreign materials into the abdominal cavity. A second approach involves the use of systemic and intraperitoneal pharmacological agents such as nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), anticoagulants, agents targeting the plasmin cascade, and hormones. A third approach involves a number of liquid- and solid-phase agents (membranes, sheets) that primarily act as barriers between two adjacent peritoneal surfaces.

Project Status: Completed

Year Published: 2012

URL for published report: The report may be purchased from:http://www.hayesinc.com/hayes/crd/?crd=7802

English language abstract: An English language summary is available

Publication Type: Not Assigned

Country: United States

Organisation Name: HAYES, Inc.

Contact Address: 157 S. Broad Street, Suite 200, Lansdale, PA 19446, USA. Tel: 215 855 0615; Fax: 215 855 5218

Contact Name: saleinfo@hayesinc.com

Contact Email: saleinfo@hayesinc.com

Copyright: 2012 Winifred S. Hayes, Inc