A semiquantitative rat model for intraperitoneal postoperative adhesion formation

A reproducible and semiquantitative rat model for the evaluation of therapeutic modalities used for the prevention of postoperative adhesion formation is designed within three experiments. In all experiments, a standard peritoneal defect was excised, sutured and adhesion formation was evaluated after 2 weeks according to the extent. Variation in extent of adhesions and type of tissue involved depended on the experimental design. While neither cecum nor colon descendens participated in the adhesions after a clamping trauma, the uterine horn was found to participate in almost all cases, especially when sutured proximally and distally to the peritoneal defect. The peritoneal defect/uterine horn model proved to be valid and reproducible and allowed a semiquantitative scoring. Additionally, the amount of blood loss as graded did not influence the presented rat adhesion model.