Pharmacological manipulation of postoperative intestinal adhesions.

Paralytic ileus and intestinal adhesions are common events following intra-abdominal surgery. The theoretical hypothesis 'that stimulation of the postoperative bowel will reduce intestinal adhesions' was studied in a rat model for intestinal adhesions in which postoperative bowel motility was pharmacologically manipulated. Immediate postoperative stimulation of gastrointestinal motility by the prokinetic agent, Cisapride, resulted in a significant reduction in both the number and extent of adhesions. Inhibition of postoperative intestinal motility with the anticholinergic agent, atropine, resulted in a greater number of more dense adhesions involving an increased length of bowel.