Establishment of a postoperative bowel adhesion model in Rats

Yu-Hsing Lin 1, #, Pi-Hsin Chen 2, #, Ya-Ling Cyue 2, Keng-Chia Hsu 2, Shih-Yi Guo 2, Ya-Peng Wang 2, Tsung-Han Wu 2, Yu-Ying Fang 2, Chia-Ying Lin 2, Jhih-Yun Wang 2 and Shao-Wen Hung 2, 3, *

1. Department of Pet Healthcare, Yuanpei University of Medical Technology, Xiangshan, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan.
2 Division of Animal Industry, Animal Technology Research Center, Agricultural Technology Research Institute, Xiangshan, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan.
3 Department of Nursing, Yuanpei University of Medical Technology, Xiangshan, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan.
# Contributed equally to this work.
 
Research Article
International Journal of Scholarly Research in Science and Technology, 2024, 05(01), 001–008.
Article DOI: 10.56781/ijsrst.2024.5.1.0028
Publication history: 
Received on 17 June 2024; revised on 26 July 2024; accepted on 28 July 2024
 
Abstract: 
Postoperative adhesive bowel obstruction is a frequent cause of hospital admission in a surgical department. Emergency surgery is needed in a majority of patients with bowel ischemia or peritonitis; most adhesive bowel obstruction can be managed non-operatively. Many studies have investigated benefits of using oral water-soluble contrast to manage adhesive bowel obstruction. Treatment recommendations are still controversial. Intestinal adhesions commonly occur in patients after abdominal surgery, often between intestines, between intestines and the abdominal wall, or within the peritoneum. Adhesions can lead to symptoms such as abdominal pain, constipation, and bloating, and may result in serious complications such as intestinal obstruction, bowel necrosis, acute peritonitis, and sepsis, which can be life-threatening. Therefore, reducing the occurrence of intestinal adhesions is crucial for abdominal surgery. To minimize adhesions, endoscopic techniques can be employed to reduce the abdominal opening area and thus decrease the probability of adhesion formation. However, this approach requires specialized equipment and surgical skills, making it somewhat challenging. Alternatively, anti-adhesion products can be used to lower the risk of adhesion formation. In this study, a murine cecal abrasion adhesion model was established and will be simulated common adhesion scenarios observed in patients after abdominal surgery. The efficacy of anti-adhesion gel materials will be then evaluated to assess their anti-adhesion properties. The record of gross adhesion severity assessment was performed. The adhesion status between the cecum and abdominal wall was observed on postoperative days 3 and 14. The results was shown that three days post-surgery operation, the group exhibited more severe adhesions upon gross examination. By day 14 post-surgery operation (at animal sacrifice), the histopathological analysis revealed that the group exhibited thicker fibrous tissue thickness, increased neovascularization, and higher collagen accumulation in the peritoneum. Therefore, based on the results of this experiment, a postoperative bowel adhesion rat is reliable and can be safely used to test the efficacy of novel anti-adhesive formulations to prevent intra-abdominal adhesions by using this model.

 

Keywords: 
Cecal abrasion adhesion; Postoperative bowel adhesion model; Rat model; Surgery induction
 
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