The effectiveness of heparin, platelet-rich plasma (PRP), and silver nanoparticles on prevention of postoperative peritoneal adhesion formation in rats

Purpose: To assess the effectiveness of heparin, platelet-rich plasma (PRP), and silver nanoparticles on prevention of postoperative adhesion in animal models. Methods: Sixty males Albino Wistar rats aged 5 to 6 weeks were classified into five groups receiving none, heparin, PRP, silver nanoparticles, PRP plus silver nanoparticles intraperitoneally. After 2 weeks, the animals underwent laparotomy and the damaged site was assessed for peritoneal adhesions severity. Results: The mean severity scores were 2.5 ± 0.9, 2.16 ± 0.7, 1.5 ± 0.5, 2.66 ± 0.88, and 2.25 ± 0.62 in the control, heparin, PRP, silver and PRP plus silver groups, respectively with significant intergroup difference (p = 0.004). The highest effective material for preventing adhesion formation was PRP followed by heparin and PRP plus silver. Moreover, compared to the controls, only use of PRP was significantly effective, in terms of adhesion severity (p = 0.01) . Conclusion: Platelet-rich plasma alone may have the highest efficacy for preventing postoperative peritoneal adhesions in comparison with heparin, silver nanoparticles and PRP plus silver nanoparticles.