Foreign bodies and intraperitoneal post-operative adhesions

The presence of foreign bodies is one of the recognized causes of fibrous bands and intraperitoneal post-operative adhesions. The objective of this study was to identify foreign bodies actually present in fibrous bands and intraperitoneal post-operative adhesions. From a series of 211 consecutive patients re-laparotomized by the same surgeon over a period of two years, 193 (91%) showed fibrous bands or adhesions; of these, 133 (69%) also showed reactions to foreign bodies. Comparison with a reference list established in animal work showed that in 127 (66%) of the cases the foreign bodies were of cellulose textile origin; in 3% of the cases, they were of diverse origin-starch powder synthetic textiles, sutures, or unidentifiable particles.