Seprafilm slurry does not increase complication rates after laparoscopic colectomy

The ability of the Seprafilm adhesion barrier to prevent adhesion formation after abdominal and pelvic operations has been proved. With laparoscopy, a major technical roadblock with these sheets is their delivery into the peritoneal cavity. This study aimed to evaluate the incidence of postoperative complications and death after laparoscopic placement of Seprafilm slurry in patients who underwent laparoscopic colectomy.

A total of 100 laparoscopic colectomies performed by a single surgeon were analyzed. For 50 patients, Seprafilm was delivered into the peritoneal cavity as a slurry. Group characteristics were evaluated in terms of age, sex, body mass index (BMI), and American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) score. Complications within the first 30 days after surgery were reviewed. The relative risks with 95% confidence intervals were calculated to determine whether differences in the complication rates between the groups were statistically significant.

Both groups were statistically similar in terms of age, sex, BMI, and ASA score. The differences between the control and experimental groups were examined for abdominal or pelvic abscess (4 vs. 2%), anastomotic leak (4% in both groups), subcutaneous abscess (2% in both groups), wound infection (8 vs. 0%), reoperative rate (8 vs. 6%), and readmission rate (6 vs. 8%). Although the mortality rate was slightly higher in group 2, all the deaths were unrelated to intraabdominal complications. The relative risks for complications were not statistically significant.

The initial data regarding Seprafilm slurry indicate no significant difference in complication rates between the control and experimental groups. This is the first study to evaluate the safety of Seprafilm slurry for patients undergoing laparoscopic colectomy.