Air and fluid leak tests after NOTES procedures: a pilot study in a live porcine model (with videos).
BACKGROUND
Transluminal access site closure remains a major challenge in natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES).


OBJECTIVE
Our purpose was to develop in vivo leak tests for evaluation of the integrity of transgastric access closure.


METHODS
Survival experiments on 12 50-kg pigs.


METHODS
After a standardized transgastric approach to the peritoneal cavity and peritoneoscopy, the gastric wall incision was closed with T-bars (Wilson-Cook Medical, Winston-Salem, NC) deployed on both sides of the incision and then cinched together. Gastrotomy closure was assessed with air and fluid leak tests. The animals were observed for 1 week and then underwent endoscopic evaluation and necropsy.


METHODS
(1) Leak-proof closure of the gastric wall incision. (2) Gastric incision healing 1 week after the procedure.


RESULTS
The mean intraperitoneal pressure increased 10.7 +/- 3.7 mm Hg during gastric insufflation when the air leak test was performed before closure compared with 0.9 +/- 0.8 mm Hg after transmural closure of the transgastric access site with T-bars (P < .001). Fluid leak tests demonstrated no leakage of liquid contrast from the stomach into the peritoneal cavity after closure. Necropsy in 1 week confirmed completeness of the gastric closure in all animals with full-thickness healing and no spillage of the gastric contents into the peritoneal cavity.


CONCLUSIONS
Leak tests were only evaluated on an animal model.


CONCLUSIONS
Fluid and air leak tests are simple techniques to evaluate in vivo the adequacy of the transluminal access site closure after NOTES procedures. Leak-proof gastric closure resulted in adequate tissue approximation and full-thickness healing of the gastric wall incision.
Dray
Xavier
X
Division of Gastroenterology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Gabrielson
Kathleen L
KL
Buscaglia
Jonathan M
JM
Shin
Eun Ji
EJ
Giday
Samuel A
SA
Surti
Vihar C
VC
Assumpcao
Lia
L
Marohn
Michael R
MR
Magno
Priscilla
P
Pipitone
Laurie J
LJ
Redding
Susan K
SK
Kalloo
Anthony N
AN
Kantsevoy
Sergey V
SV
D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005773:Gastroscopy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods* / Q000401:mortality; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods* / Q000401:mortality; D010537:Peritoneum / Q000473:pathology; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011027:Pneumoperitoneum / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D011336:Probability; D012307:Risk Factors; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013270:Stomach / Q000473:pathology; D015996:Survival Rate; D034421:Sus scrofa; D013536:Suture Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation*; D013552:Swine