Study of clinical and biomechanical effect of carboxymethyl ellulose on surgical wound healing

 One of the most important problems and complications after surgery is tissue adhesion. Carboxymethyl cellulose is a cellulose derivative that can dissolve in water and has high viscosity. In this study, the role and effect of carboxymethyl cellulose in the healing of surgical wounds in rabbits have been discussed.

To conduct the study, 15 male rabbits aged 7-9 months were randomly divided into 3 groups of 5: experimental, control, and skin wound. After preparing the operation site, in both the control and experimental groups, a 4 cm incision was made in the right flank region. In the experimental group, the inside of the abdominal cavity was smeared with carboxymethyl cellulose gel (dose 7 mg/kg); however, in the control group, carboxymethyl cellulose gel was not used. Two groups of abdominal cavity slits were sewn in two separate layers. In the skin wound group, only the skin was cut, and then the wound was covered with carboxymethyl cellulose and sutured. The surface of the wounds was clinically examined daily, and on the 20th day, skin and muscle samples were taken for biomechanical studies.

The results showed that, clinically, the wound was repaired in the same way in the three groups, and carboxymethyl cellulose had no difference in the biomechanical parameters, maximum tensile strength, and tissue stiffness, in the skin tissue between the groups, and besides preventing tissue adhesion, it increased the biomechanical parameters in the muscle tissue.

According to the results, carboxymethyl cellulose had no negative effect on the healing process of the skin and led to better healing and strength of the muscle tissue.