Peritoneal adhesions continue to be a significant cause of postoperative complications. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of nitric oxide in preventing postoperative adhesion formation in rats. Three randomized groups of Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to a standardized lesion by cecal abrasion and parietal peritoneal defect. 0.9% NaCl (control, group 1), L-arginine (300 mg/kg, group 2) and Nomega-nitro arginine methyl ester (L-NAME; 25 mg/kg, group 3) were administered intraperitoneally before abdominal closure and during 3 consecutive days after surgery. Two weeks after surgery, a relaparotomy was performed and the extent of adhesion formation was determined. In groups 1 and 3 heavy adhesions were detected. In the L-arginine group, adhesion formation was significantly less than in the other groups (p < 0.05). This study showed that L-arginine reduced adhesion formation.
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