Postsurgical intra-abdominal adhesions cause significant morbidity and mortality, with small bowel obstruction being the most common complication. The urge to prevent adhesion formation has resulted in multiple experimental and clinical trials and the development of numerous antiadhesive agents. Through the years, hyaluronan-based antiadhesives have proved to be successful in the reduction of adhesion formation. [...]

The purpose of this article is to review progress in the field of abdominopelvic adhesions and the validity of its two underlying assumptions: (1) The formation of adhesions results in infertility, bowel obstruction, or other complications. Reducing or avoiding adhesions will curb these sequelae. (2) ‘‘Adhesions’’ is a monolithic entity to be tackled without [...]

Consequences and complications of postsurgical intraabdominal adhesion formation not including small bowel obstruction and secondary infertility are substantial but are under-exposed in the literature. Inadvertent enterotomy during reopening of the abdomen or subsequent adhesion dissection is a feared complication of surgery after previous laparotomy. The incidence can be as high as 20% in open [...]

The SurgiWrap® MAST Bioresorbable Sheet is a valuable new addition to the armamentarium of gynecologic surgeons. Introduced in the United States in 2001, this polymeric sheet has many uses in both open and laparoscopic procedures, providing temporary wound support and reinforcing weakened soft tissues (Figures 1 through 4). Most important, this bioresorbable sheet creates [...]

The number of bariatric procedures has grown exponentially over the past few years. In the year 2000, 40,000 procedures were performed; 80,000 were performed in 2002; 100,000 procedures were performed in 2003;1 and it is estimated that 140,000 bariatric procedures were performed in 2004.2 Bariatric surgery, including Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, gastric restrictive procedures, laparoscopic [...]

Purpose: There are a number of nerve compression syndromes involving the upper limb, the most frequent of which are carpal tunnel syndrome, cubital tunnel syndrome and Guyon’s tunnel syndrome. After surgical decompression of the nerve, symptoms often persist as a result of extra-neural fibrosis or scar adhesions. In recent years, a number of methods [...]

[Abstract] Objective: To observe the clinical effect of the polylactic acid membrane in the prevention of epidural scar adhesion. Methods: From July 1998 to April 2000, 62 inpatients with lumbar dics herniation were randomly assigned into two groups: an experimental group with 32 patients and a control group with 30 patients. All patients were treated [...]