The temporal efficacy of early second-look lysis of adhesions in reducing postoperative adhesions in a murine model, ,

OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to determine whether early second-look lysis of adhesions reduces postoperative adhesions. STUDY DESIGN: With the murine uterine horn model, early second-look lysis of adhesions was performed 5, 7, 14, and 21 days after an electrocautery injury. Sites with adhesions (between 36 and 46/time point) underwent lysis of adhesions. Fourteen days later, a reviewer blinded to the treatment assessed adhesion formation, including adhesions not present at early second-look lysis of adhesions (eg, de novo adhesions). RESULTS: The rate of adhesion formation was 49% of control sites, unchanged when the early second-look lysis of adhesions was performed at 5 (44.4%) and 7 (39.5%) days, reduced at 14 days (28.6%), and increased at 21 days (74%). The pattern of de novo adhesions was similar, 17.6% when the early second-look lysis of adhesions was performed at 5 days, 10% at 7 days, 0% at 14 days, and 28.6% at 21 days. The only histologic difference between the groups was neovascularity at day 21. CONCLUSIONS: Early second-look lysis of adhesions was effective in reducing postoperative adhesions only when performed at 14 days in this model, suggesting that the specific cellular events occurring at the time of the early second-look lysis of adhesions are critical to efficacy. (Am J Obstet Gynecol 1998;179:368-73.)