Background: Anastomotic leakage is a severe complication in gastrointestinal surgery. Different methods have been evaluated for anastomotic reinforcement to prevent anastomotic leakage. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a poly-ε-caprolactone (PCL) scaffold incorporated in the staple-line, on the anastomotic strength and histological wound healing, of small intestinal anastomoses in piglets.
Method: This randomized experimental trial included 17 piglets. In each piglet, three end-to-end anastomoses were performed in the small intestine with a circular stapler, i.e. one control and two interventional anastomoses. On postoperative day 5, the anastomoses were resected and subjected to tension stretch test and histological examination.
Results: No anastomotic leakage occurred. In the interventional anastomoses, the mean value for maximal tensile strength was 15.7 N, which was significantly higher than control anastomoses 12.7 N (p = 0.01). No statistically significant differences were found between the two groups in the histopathological parameters.
Conclusion: To conclude, this study has shown that the incorporation of a PCL scaffold in the staple-line was feasible and significantly increased the maximal tensile strength of small intestine anastomoses in piglets on postoperative day 5. The difference in histological parameters was not significantly distinct.
Keywords: Colorectal surgery; Intestinal anastomosis; Poly-ε-caprolactone; Reinforcement; Scaffold.