Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 3, 2026
A Translational Surgical Porcine Model for Postoperative Intra-Abdominal Adhesion Formation
Published on: March 13, 2026
Evaluation of a sprayable polyethylene glycol adhesion barrier in a porcine efficacy model
R Ferland1, D Mulani, P K Campbell
1Women and Infants Hospital, Providence, RI 02905, USA. roger_ferland@brown.edu
Background:
The formation of adhesions following pelvic surgery remains one of the leading causes of infertility, small bowel obstruction and re-operation for pelvic pain. A novel hydrophilic polyethylene glycol based adhesion barrier (SprayGel) is formed by simultaneously spraying two liquid precursors onto surgical sites. The liquids polymerize to form a gel that effectively coats and adheres to tissue. After about 5 days, the hydrogel layer is absorbed and subsequently undergoes renal clearance. It is believed that the presence of such a barrier would inhibit the formation of adhesions following surgical insult.
Methods:
A porcine adhesion model was developed wherein bilateral uterine horn transection and re-anastomosis, along with peritoneal side wall excision was performed via laparotomy. In each animal (n = 10, including the pilot study) one pelvic side wall was treated with adhesion barrier, while the contralateral side remained untreated.
Results:
At second look laparoscopy, 90% of the untreated sites had adhesions, compared with 30% of the treated sites (P = 0.006). Also observed were statistically significant reductions in the adhesion extent (P = 0.029) and adhesion severity scores (P = 0.023) at the treated sites. However, if the pilot study was excluded (n = 8) the differences obtained were no longer significant.
Conclusions:
Polyethylene glycol (SprayGel) merits further investigation as an effective barrier to the formation of post-operative adhesions in this porcine model.
