Antiadhesive property of photoreactive azidophenyl low-molecular-weight chitosan in rabbit laminotomy model

Newly developed photoreactive azidophenyl chitosan (p-almc) has characteristics of a transformable gel type and its outer layer could be sealed up like a film after uv radiation. we aim to evaluate the antiadhesive properties of p-almc through comparing it with hyaluronic acid- carboxymethylcellulose membrane (ha-cmc) in a rabbit laminotomy model. laminotomies were performed at the l3-4,l4-5,and l5-6 levels in 41 rabbits and each level was randomly assigned to either receive saline (group i),ha-cmc (group ii),or p-almc (group iii). the extent of peridural fibrosis,density of fibroblasts and inflammatory cells,and dural thickness were evaluated at 6 and 12 weeks postoperatively. in the groups ii and iii,the extents of peridural fibrosis and dural thickness were significantly smaller than those in group i (p < 0.001) and no differences between groups ii and iii were found at the postoperative 6 and 12 weeks. there were no differences of cell density among groups. p-almc showed effective antiadhesive properties comparable to ha-cmc and could be one of the candidates as an anti-adhesive agent for spine surgery even further study is required to identify the effectiveness of its unique characteristics as mechanical barrier. © 2013 jong won kim et al.