the effect of vitamin a and vitamin c on postoperative adhesion formation: a rat model study

background: the aim of this study is to investigate the effect of vitamin a and c, as the agents that improve wound healing, on the adhesion formation process. materials and methods: sixty male wistar rats were used. they underwent midline laparotomy, for repair of a peritoneal injury, and were then assigned to four groups. group 1 (vitamin a) received 2000 units/kg intramuscular injection of vitamin a daily, post surgery, for two weeks; group 2 (vitamin c) received 100 mg/kg oral vitamin c daily, after laparotomy, for two weeks; group 3 (vitamins a and c) received 2000 units/kg intramuscular injection of vitamin a and 100 mg/kg oral vitamin c daily, after laparotomy, for two weeks, and group four (sham) rats did not receive any drugs. the adhesion, inflammation, fibrosis scores, and wound integrity were evaluated after two weeks. results: rats in the vitamin c group had the lowest mean adhesion formation score (1 ± 0.27) and the values of p were < 0.0001 for the vitamin a group and vitamin a and c groups and 0.003 for the sham group. vitamin c also had the lowest fibrosis score (0.50 ± 0.17) among the study groups and the values of p were < 0.0001 for the vitamin a group and vitamin a and c groups and 0.002 for the sham group. the mean inflammation score did not differ significantly among the study groups. the wound disruption strength was the highest in the vitamin c group and the difference was statistically significant in the sham group (1188.69 ± 281.92 vs. 893.04 ± 187.46, p: 0.003). conclusion: administration of oral vitamin c reduces adhesion formation and improves wound healing.