Objective: To investigate effectiveness of oral clarythromycin and tetracycline on the prevention of postoperative adhesions.

Materials and Methods: A total of 28 Wistar-albino rats were divided into four groups. Group 1: abdomen was opened and closed, Group 2: a 2 cm linear incision was made on the right uterine horn and closed, Group 3: 15 minutes after the administration of oral clarithromycin, a 2 cm incision was made on the right uterine horn and closed, Group 4: 15 minutes after the administration oral tetracycline, a 2 cm incision was made on the right uterine horn and closed. Fifteen days later, a re-laparotomy was performed in all groups. Right uterine horn adhesions were assessed on the basis of macro-morphological characteristics and tissue cross-sections were further examined for the signs of fibrosis, angiogenesis, and VEGF and for MDA scoring. Kruskal-Wallis variance analysis and Mann-Whitney U test were used for statistical analyses.

Results: The extent and strength of adhesions were significantly lower in Group 1, Group 3 and Group 4 as compared to Group 2. Fibrosis and angiogenesis scores were significantly higher in Group 2 than in Group 1, Group 3 and Group 4.

Conclusion: Oral administration of clarithromycin and tetracycline was effective in the prevention of postoperative adhesions.