Comparative study of polyglactin 910 and simple catgut in the formation of intraperitoneal adhesions.

PURPOSE: To compare polyglactin 910 and simple catgut sutures for the incidence of intraperitoneal adhesions.

METHODS: Twenty female Wistar rats were placed into two groups. Group 1 received ischemic sutures and Group 2 received polyglactin 910. Five sutures inductive of adhesions in each rat were made. After 14 days, the rats were euthanized with an assessment of the presence of adhesions, the number of sutures involved and classification according to the Granat et al. scale described by Ozel et al17.

RESULTS: In total, 19 of the 20 rats presented adhesions, with nine from Group 1 and ten from Group 2. There was a smaller number of affected sutures in Group 1, while in Group 2 the majority of the sutures formed adhesions (p=0.0197). According to the Granat et al. scale, Group 1 predominately developed fine, filamentous adhesions or thickening in a restricted area. Group 2 mainly presented extensive, thick adhesions with the involvement of the viscera (p=0.0055).

CONCLUSION: Polyglactin 910 sutures formed more adhesions that were more extensive and thicker than the simple catgut sutures.