Surgical adhesions - common, sometimes life-threatening complications that arise after open or laparoscopic abdominal surgery - can be prevented in mice and pigs by a gel impregnated with a molecule that blocks a key signaling pathway in the formation of scar tissue. The gel can be applied as a spray or a wash to the inside of the abdominal cavity immediately after surgery. Over a period of two weeks, the gel releases a small molecule, T-5224, that blocks the activation of adhesion-forming cells called fibroblasts without affecting normal wound healing.
A practical, simple way to prevent or reduce the formation of post-surgical abdominal adhesions in humans, which are currently unpreventable and largely untreatable, could save billions of dollars in health care costs each year and significantly reduce the incidences of chronic pain , infertility and bowel obstructions that arise when adhesions are severe, the researchers believe. Showing success in large animals such as pigs is a key step toward human clinical trials. Adhesions happen primarily when you injure or interact with the bowel during surgery, whether the surgery is open or laparoscopic.
This gel reduces the likelihood of adhesions without compromising the ability of the animal to heal after surgery. And, as a surgeon, I'm already used to washing out the surgical site at the end of the procedure, so this would be easy to incorporate into our normal workflow." Michael Longaker, MD, professor of surgery Longaker, the D.
