Foreign Material and Postoperative Adhesions

Abstract

A PROBLEM of major importance in abdominal surgery is the prevention of intra-abdominal adhesions with their sequelae. It has been estimated that approximately 10 per cent of repeat laparotomies are performed because adhesions have caused intestinal obstruction and, on the other hand, that in 70 to 90 per cent of adhesive obstructions a connection with previous laparotomies can be established. This high frequency of adhesions and their serious consequences makes it imperative that more attention should be paid to their prevention, which can only be realized when the causative factors are known and the mechanism of adhesion formation understood. The . . .