Prophylaxis of adhesions with low frequency sound.

Despite a multitude of ingenious ideas, a review of the literature has revealed no consistently acceptable results concerning adhesion prophylaxis. While pharmacologic avenues are far from exhausted, presently, there is no acceptable regimen. A double blind experimental study was performed with 130 Sprague-Dawley rats to determine the effect of high intensity low frequency sound on postoperative adhesion formation. Standard cecal crush was used to induce adhesions in rats which were then divided into four groups. The control rats exhibited 83 per cent adhesion formation while the rats in the other groups displayed an incidence inversely related to the duration of low frequency sound exposure. A reduction to 23 per cent adhesion formation was achieved in the group exposed to infrasound for 12 days. The controlled application of low frequency sound generates micromotion of the abdominal organs; moving surfaces do not lend themselves to spanning fiber formation. Studies disclaim significant side-effects of low frequency sound in man nor were any detected in the rats used in this study.