Using an animal model, the effect of a single intraoperative application of 5-fluorouracil on digital flexor tendon adhesions was assessed. After a standard partial division of the tendon and immobilization with a stitch, the synovial sheath in 30 rabbit tendons was treated with 5-fluorouracil solution (50 mg/ml)-soaked sponge pledgets for 5 minutes. Buffered saline was substituted for 5-fluorouracil in 30 control tendons. The tendons were harvested 1 week postoperatively, and histologic sections were assessed with a light microscope. There was a significant reduction in synovial sheath thickening (p < 0.001), cell counts (p < 0.001) and proportional length of adhesions (p < 0.001) in the treated tendons. The reduction in synovial reaction and adhesion formation using this "one touch" technique presents a novel strategy for the management of the clinical problem of postoperative adhesions complicating tendon injury and repair.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.