Reducing post-operative adhesion formation with intraperitoneal glutamine
Intraperitoneal administration of glutamine to reduce adhesions in the peritoneum of a patient.
1. A method of treating or reducing adhesions in the peritoneum of a patient in need thereof, comprising: administering to the peritoneum or the peritoneal cavity of a patient an effective amount of a glutamine source during a surgical procedure or after a surgical procedure, wherein said surgical procedure affects the peritoneum of the patient and wherein the glutamine source is selected from the group consisting of L-glutamine and a dipeptide comprising alanyl-glutamine.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the glutamine source is a dipeptide comprising alanyl-glutamine.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the glutamine residue is at the C-terminal position of the dipeptide.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the glutamine source is L-glutamine.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the glutamine source is in a gel formulation.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the glutamine source is placed on or is impregnated into a surgical material or an implantable medical device.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the surgical procedure is a laparoscopic procedure.