title: Murine ileocolic bowel resection with primary anastomosis.
abstract: Intestinal resections are frequently required for treatment of diseases involving the gastrointestinal tract, with Crohn's disease and colon cancer being two common examples. Despite the frequency of these procedures, a significant knowledge gap remains in describing the inherent effects of intestinal resection on host physiology and disease pathophysiology. This article provides detailed instructions for an ileocolic resection with primary end-to-end anastomosis in mice, as well as essential aspects of peri-operative care to maximize post-operative success. When followed closely, this procedure yields a 95% long-term survival rate, no failure to thrive, and minimizes post-operative complications of bowel obstruction and anastomotic leak. The technical challenges of performing the procedure in mice are a barrier to its wide spread use in research. The skills described in this article can be acquired without previous surgical experience. Once mastered, the murine ileocolic resection procedure will provide a reproducible tool for studying the effects of intestinal resection in models of human disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Alberta; teperry@ualberta.ca.
authors.forename: Troy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Perry
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Alberta.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Borowiec
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Alberta.
authors.forename: Bryan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dicken
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Alberta.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fedorak
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Alberta.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Madsen
mesh_terms: D000714:Anastomosis, Surgical / Q000379:methods*; D000818:Animals; D003106:Colon / Q000601:surgery*; D013505:Digestive System Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D007082:Ileum / Q000601:surgery*; D051379:Mice; D023421:Models, Animal