Abdominal adhesions: current and novel therapies.

An adhesion occurs when two tissues that normally freely move past each other attach via a fibrous bridge. Abdominal adhesions place a tremendous clinical and financial burden on public health. Adhesions develop after nearly every abdominal surgery, commonly causing female infertility, chronic pelvic pain, and, most frequently, small bowel obstruction. A National Hospital Discharge Survey of hospitalizations between 1998 and 2002 reported that 18.1% of hospitalizations were related to abdominal adhesions annually accounting for 948,000 days of inpatient care at an estimated cost of $1.18 billion. This review discusses the current or proposed therapies for abdominal adhesions. While many therapies for abdominal adhesions have been attempted, the need for a definitive therapy to prevent or even reduce abdominal adhesions still exists.