A critical requirement for cell survival after trauma is sealing of breaks in the cell membrane [M. Bier, S.M. Hammer, D.J. Canaday, R.C Lee, Kinetics of sealing for transient electropores in isolated mammalian skeletal muscle cells, Bioelectromagnetics 20 (1999) 194-201; R.C. Lee, D.C. Gaylor, D. Bhatt, D.A. Israel, Role of cell membrane rupture in the pathogenesis of electrical trauma, J. Surg. Res. 44 (1988) 709-719; R.C. Lee, J.F. Burke, E.G. Cravalho (Eds.), Electrical Trauma: The Pathophysiology, Manifestations, and Clinical Management, Cambridge University Press, 1992; B.I. Tropea, R.C. Lee, Thermal injury kinetics in electrical trauma, J. Biomech. Engr. 114 (1992) 241-250; F. Despa, D.P. Orgill, J. Newalder, R.C Lee, The relative thermal stability of tissue macromolecules and cellular structure in burn injury, Burns 31 (2005) 568-577; T.A. Block, J.N. Aarsvold, K.L. Matthews II, R.A. Mintzer, L.P. River, M. Capelli-Schellpfeffer, R.L. Wollman, S. Tripathi, C.T. Chen, R.C. Lee, The 1995 Lindberg Award. Nonthermally mediated muscle injury and necrosis in electrical trauma, J. Burn Care and Rehabil. 16 (1995) 581-588; K. Miyake, P.L. McNeil, Mechanical injury and repair of cells, Crit. Care Med. 31 (2003) S496-S501; R.C. Lee, L.P. River, F.S. Pan, R.L. Wollmann, Surfactant-induced sealing of electropermeabilized skeletal muscle membranes in vivo, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 89 (1992) 4524-4528; J.D. Marks, C.Y. Pan, T. Bushell, W. Cromie, R.C. Lee, Amphiphilic, tri-block copolymers provide potent membrane-targeted neuroprotection, FASEB J. 15 (2001) 1107-1109; B. Greenebaum, K. Blossfield, J. Hannig, C.S. Carrillo, M.A. Beckett, R.R. Weichselbaum, R.C. Lee, Poloxamer 188 prevents acute necrosis of adult skeletal muscle cells following high-dose irradiation, Burns 30 (2004) 539-547; G. Serbest, J. Horwitz, K. Barbee, The effect of poloxamer-188 on neuronal cell recovery from mechanical injury, J. Neurotrauma 22 (2005) 119-132]. The triblock copolymer surfactant Poloxamer 188 (P188) is known to increase the cell survival after membrane electroporation [R.C. Lee, L.P. River, F.S. Pan, R.L. Wollmann, Surfactant-induced sealing of electropermeabilized skeletal muscle membranes in vivo, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 89 (1992) 4524-4528; Z. Ababneh, H. Beloeil, C.B. Berde, G. Gambarota, S.E. Maier, R.V. Mulkern, Biexponential parametrization of T2 and diffusion decay curves in a rat muscle edema model: Decay curve components and water compartments, Magn. Reson. Med. 54 (2005) 524-531]. Here, we use a rat hind-limb model of electroporation injury to determine if the intravenous administration of P188 improves the recovery of the muscle function. Rat hind-limbs received a sequence of either 0, 3, 6, 9, or 12 electrical current pulses (2 A, 4 ms duration, 10 s duty cycle). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) analysis, muscle water content and compound muscle action potential (CMAP) amplitudes were compared. Electroporation injury manifested edema formation and depression of the CMAP amplitudes. P188 (one bolus of 1 mg/ml of blood) was administrated 30 or 60 min after injury. Animals receiving P188 exhibited reduced tissue edema (p<0.05) and increased CMAP amplitudes (p<0.03). By comparison, treatment with 10 kDa neutral dextran, which produces similar serum osmotic effects as P188, had no effect on post-electroporation recovery. Noteworthy, the present results suggest that a single intravenous dose of P188 is effective to restore the structural integrity of damaged tissues with intact circulation.