Tension leads to increased neutrophil accumulation and decreased laparotomy wound strength.

Wound margin strength was measured immediately after and at 72 hours after median laparotomy in rats. The laparotomy wound was sutured with or without tension, and wound margin strength was measured as breaking strength with the sutures in situ. In wounds sutured without tension, no decrease in breaking strength was observed at 72 hours; in rats sutured with tension, breaking strength decreased by 77%, and in almost half of the animals the sutures cut through. There was markedly increased accumulation of neutrophil leukocytes around the sutures in the tension group, as indicated by increased tissue myeloperoxidase activity. The decrease in breaking strength was abolished by treatment with an inhibitor of the collagen-degrading proteinases of the neutrophils (the soybean trypsin inhibitor). Although the decrease in breaking strength should be due to collagenolysis, there were no changes in collagen content or solubility around the sutures, indicating that the changes in collagen were too delicate to be revealed by the methods used. We conclude that the decrease in breaking strength was caused by the neutrophils.