Laparoscopic surgery in the rat. Beneficial effect on body weight and tumor take.
BACKGROUND
The ability of laparoscopic techniques to treat malignant disease is controversial. We developed a rat model to assess metabolic and oncological effects of laparoscopic surgery.


METHODS
Experiment I. The postoperative body weight in 10 rats having laparoscopic bowel resection (group I), 10 rats having open bowel resection (group II) and 5 rats having anesthesia only (group III) was determined. Experiment II. Tumor take was scored in 11 rats having laparoscopic bowel resection (group IV), 11 rats having open bowel resection (group V), 6 rats having CO2 pneumoperitoneum without bowel resection (group VI) and 6 rats having anesthesia only (group VII). All rats had CC531 cancer cells injected intraperitoneally postoperatively.


RESULTS
Experiment I. Body weight loss in group I compared to group II (p<0.036). Rats of group III lost no weight postoperatively. Experiment II. Tumor take was less in the subcutis (p=0.005), parietal peritoneum (p<0.001) and bowel anastomosis (p=0.021) in group IV compared to group V. Tumor take was significantly greater at all sites except for subcutis in group VI compared to VII (all p<0.022).


CONCLUSIONS
Laparoscopic surgery is associated with less postoperative weight loss and less tumor take compared to open surgery. CO2 insufflation appears to increase tumor take.
Bouvy
N D
ND
Department of Surgery, University Hospital Dijkzigt, Dr. Molewaterplein 40, 3015 GD Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Marquet
R L
RL
Hamming
J F
JF
Jeekel
J
J
Bonjer
H J
HJ
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000601:surgery*; D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D007421:Intestine, Small / Q000601:surgery*; D010535:Laparoscopy; D008297:Male; D009368:Neoplasm Transplantation; D011028:Pneumoperitoneum, Artificial; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D015431:Weight Loss