Colorectal and Abdominal Surgeries and Internal Scarring

Colorectal surgery, such as a small or large bowel resection, may be necessary for the treatment of conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease (e.g. Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis), diverticulitis, small bowel obstruction, or malignant diseases, including colon cancer and rectal cancer. Other common types of abdominal surgery include weight-loss surgery; hernia repair; liver, pancreatic, or stomach cancer surgery; and adhesiolysis.

If you’re going to have open colorectal or abdominal surgery, you should know about adhesions – internal scars that can form between tissues and organs after surgery. Adhesions have been shown to occur in up to 93% of patients after major abdominal surgery.¹

Adhesions can lead to a number of complications, including

• Bowel obstruction²
• Infertility³
• Chronic pelvic pain⁴
• Complications during future surgeries or procedures⁵, including laparoscopy⁶

Reducing adhesions with SEPRAFILM®

Doctors use a number of techniques to help prevent adhesions. One is using SEPRAFILM Adhesion Barrier. SEPRAFILM is a clear, reabsorbable film that’s applied during open surgery. It separates organs and body tissues from one another, helping to prevent them from attaching as they heal. SEPRAFILM stays in place during the critical seven-day healing period⁷, and is then absorbed naturally by your body.⁸

SEPRAFILM is proven to reduce adhesions and related complications.

• In a study of patients receiving SEPRAFILM during colorectal surgery, SEPRAFILM was shown to reduce the number of re-operations required for adhesive small bowel obstruction by 47% relative to patients who did not receive an adhesion barrier.⁹
• In a study of patients receiving SEPRAFILM during a 2-stage intestinal surgery, SEPRAFILM patients were about half as likely to develop adhesions to the application site as patients who did not receive an adhesion barrier.¹

If you’re going to have open abdominal surgery, ask your doctor if SEPRAFILM may be right for you.

Ulcerative Colitis A digestive disease characterized by inflammation of the colon. Full glossary

Adhesions Internal scars that may form after surgery on or between internal organs and/or body tissue. Adhesions between tissues can twist and pull organs out of their normal places. Full glossary

Crohn's Disease An inflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal tract, often affecting the small intestine and colon. Full glossary

Adhesiolysis Severing of adhesive band(s); performed by either laparotomy (open surgery) or laparoscopy. Full glossary

Diverticulitis A condition that occurs when small pouches (diverticula) in the colon become infected or irritated. Full glossary

1. Becker JM, Dayton MT, Fazio VW, et al. Prevention of postoperative abdominal adhesions by a sodium hyaluronate-based bioresorbable membrane: a prospective, randomized, double-blind multicenter study. J Am Coll Surg 1996;183;297-306.

 

1. Becker JM, Dayton MT, Fazio VW, et al. Prevention of postoperative abdominal adhesions by a sodium hyaluronate-based bioresorbable membrane: a prospective, randomized, double-blind multicenter study. J Am Coll Surg 1996;183;297-306.

 

2. Ellis H, Moran BJ, Thompson JN, Parker MC, Wilson MS, Menzies D, et al.  Adhesion-related hospital readmissions after abdominal and pelvic surgery:  a retrospective cohort study. Lancet1999;353(9163):1476-1480.

 

3. DiZerega GS.  Peritoneal repair and postsurgical adhesion formation. In: Management of Common Problems in Obstetrics & Gynecology. Mishell DR, Goodwin Murphy T, Brenner PF, eds. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing; 2002: 267-271.

 

4. Keltz MD, Gera PS, Olive DL.  Prospective randomized trial of right-sided paracolic adhesiolysis for chronic pelvic pain. JSLS. 2006;10(4):443-446.

 

5. Van der Krabben AA, Dijkstra FR, Nieuwenhuijzen M, Reijnen MMPJ, Schaapveld M, van Goor H.  Morbidity and mortality of inadvertent enterotomy during adhesiotomy. Br J Surg. 2000;87(4):467-471.

 

6. Nichols DH, Clarke-Pearson DL, eds. Gynecologic, Obstetric, and Related Surgery. 2^nd ed. St. Louis, MO: Mosby, Inc; 1993.

 

7. Raftery AT. Regeneration of parietal and visceral peritoneum: an electron microscopical study. J Anat. 1973;115:375-392.

 

8. SEPRAFILM Prescribing Information. Cambridge, MA: Genzyme Biosurgery; 2007

 

9. Fazio VW, Cohen Z, Fleshman JW, et al. Reduction in adhesive small-bowel obstruction by Seprafilm Adhesion Barrier after intestinal resection. Dis Colon Rectum. 2005;49:1-11.