Composition and method for post-surgical adhesion reduction with thermo-irreversible gels of polyoxyalkylene polymers and ionic polysaccharides

A thermally-irreversible, aqueous gel composition for reducing post-surgical adhesion formation/reformation following injury to organs situated in mammalian body spaces, said composition consisting essentially of water, a mixture of at leas tone ionic polysaccharide,

• (A) at least one polyoxyalkylene block copolymer of the formula
• Y[(A).sub.n --E--H].sub.x (I)
• wherein A is a polyoxyalkylene moiety having an oxygen/carbon atom ratio of less than 0.5, x is at least 2, Y is derived from water or an organic compound containing x reactive hydrogen atoms, E is a polyoxyethylene moiety constituting at least about 60% by weight of the copolymer, n has a value such that the average molecular weight of A is at least about 500 to about 900, as determined by the hydroxyl number of an intermediate,
• Y[(A).sub.n--H].sub.x (II)
• and the total average molecular weight of the copolymer is at least about 5000,
• (B) optionally, an additive selected from the group consisting of a humectant, a bactericide, a bacteriostatic agent, an agent to prevent leucocyte migration into an area of surgical injury, a fibrinolytic agent, and mixtures thereof, and
• (C) optionally, a latent form of at least one counter-ion for rendering the mixture thermally-irreversible.

A process for reducing post-surgical adhesion formation/reformation following injury to organs situated in mammalian body spaces comprising separating said organs from adjacent tissue with an effective amount of a thermally- irreversible aqueous gel composition consisting essentially of water and a mixture of at least one ionic polysaccharide, at least one optional counter-ion, present in latent form, at least one surfactant, and at least one polyoxyalkylene polyether, said polyether having a molecular weight of about 10,000 to about 100,000, which is selected from the group consisting of

• (A) polyoxyalkylene polyethers prepared by reacting ethylene oxide and at least one lower alkylene oxide having 3 to 4 carbon atoms with at least one active hydrogen-containing compound having from 3 to 10 carbon atoms and from 3 to 6 active hydrogens to prepare a heteric or block copolymer intermediate and further reacting said copolymer intermediate with at least one alpha-olefin oxide having an average carbon chain length of about 20 to about 45 aliphatic carbon atoms and wherein said alpha-olefin oxide is present in the amount of about 0.3 to 10 percent by weight based upon the total weight of said polyether.
• (B) polyoxyalkylene polyethers prepared by reacting ethylene oxide with at least one active hydrogen-containing compound having from 2 to 10 carbon atoms and from 2 to 6 active hydrogens to prepare a homopolymer intermediate and further reacting said homopolymer with at least one alpha-olefin oxide having an average carbon chain length of about 20 to 45 aliphatic carbon atoms and wherein said alpha-olefin oxide is present in the amount of about 0.3 to 10 percent by weight based on the total weight of said polyether.

A thermally-irreversible aqueous gel composition for reducing post-surgical adhesion formation/reformation following injury to organs situated in mammalian body spaces, said composition consisting essentially of water, a mixture of at least one ionic polysaccharide, at least one surfactant, and at least one polyether having a molecular weight of about 10,000 to about 100,000, which is selected form the group consisting of

• (A) polyoxyalkylene polyethers prepared by reacting ethylene oxide and at least one lower alkylene oxide having 3 to 4 carbon atoms with at least one active hydrogen-containing compound having from 3 to 10 carbon atoms and from 3 to 6 active hydrogens to prepare a heteric or block copolymer intermediate and further reacting said copolymer intermediate with at least one alpha-olefin oxide having an average carbon chain length of about 20 to about 45 aliphatic carbon atoms and wherein said alpha-olefin oxide is present in the amount of about 0.3 to 10 percent by weight based upon the total weight of said polyether and
• () polyoxyalkylene polyethers prepared by reacting ethylene oxide with at least one active hydrogen-containing compound having from 2 to 10 carbon atoms and from 2 to 6 active hydrogens to prepare a homopolymer intermediate and further reacting said homopolymer with at least one alpha-olefin oxide having an average carbon chain length of about 20 to 45 aliphatic carbon atoms and wherein said alpha-olefin oxide is present in the amount of about 0.3 to 10 percent by weight based on the total weight of said polyether and
• (C) optionally, an additive selected from the group consisting of a humectant, a bactericide, a bacteriostatic agent, an agent to prevent leucocyte migration into an area of surgical injury, a fibrinolytic agent, and mixtures thereof, and
• (D) optionally, a latent form of a counter-ion capable of rendering the mixture thermally-irreversible.