Repair of gastric defects with an equine pericardial patch.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to test the efficacy of an equine pericardial patch for repairing full-thickness defects of the stomach wall.


METHODS
Circular defects, 1.5 cm in diameter, were created on the anterior wall of the stomach of 12 female New Zealand rabbits. The defects were repaired by an equine pericardial patch. After euthanasia at different time intervals (3 days to 8 weeks) a macroscopic evaluation of the abdominal cavity (including adhesion scoring), mechanical testing and a histological examination of the stomach were performed.


RESULTS
The animals survived the surgical procedure and underwent an uneventful recovery until euthanasia. None of the patches failed. Adhesions were observed in all animals and were significant in 3/12 animals. Bursting pressure testing indicated that the repair was durable and that adequate strength to prevent patch failure was achieved by the second week. A histological examination showed gradual narrowing of the perforation site by mucosal and limited muscular regeneration.


CONCLUSIONS
The equine pericardial patch was successfully used to repair a gastric defect in our experimental model, and it seems that it could have potential as a material suitable for further research concerning the repair of upper gastrointestinal defects.
Second Propaedeutic Department of Surgery, Thoracic Surgery Department, University of Athens, "Laiko" General Hospital, 17 Agiou Thoma Str., 11527, Athens, Greece.
Kostantinos
K
Spiliopoulos
Charalampos
C
Markakis
Periklis
P
Tomos
Hariklia
H
Gakiopoulou
Ioannis
I
Nikolopoulos
Eleftherios
E
Spartalis
Kostantinos
K
Kontzoglou
Michael
M
Safioleas
D000818:Animals; D001705:Bioprosthesis; D013505:Digestive System Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D006736:Horses; D010496:Pericardium / Q000637:transplantation*; D011817:Rabbits; D013270:Stomach / Q000601:surgery*; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds