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The small intestine in each of ten pigs was subjected to three anastomoses: one sutured anastomosis and two non-suture fibrin adhesive anastomoses in an intra-individual controlled comparison. There was no significant difference in the in vivo bursting strength after 7 days. Thus, the two types of anastomoses were of equal strength. It is concluded that it appears possible to achieve a safe sutureless anastomosis in the small intestine, with fibrin adhesive alone.

By performing a colorectal anastomosis, the risk of a serious clinical leakage is about 10 percent. On the basis of this, the current study described a combined fibrin adhesive-sutured anastomosis in the rectum performed with interrupted seromuscular sutures externally and fibrin adhesive in the mucosa-mucosa cleft internally. Ten dogs having combined anastomosis were compared with ten dogs having a two-layer sutured anastomosis in the rectum as a control. The median bursting strength in the rectum seven days after the operation was 280 mm Hg (range, 180 to 340 mm Hg) for the combined anastomosis and 260 mm Hg (range, 170 to 405 mm Hg) for the sutured anastomosis in the control group. Two anastomoses with two-layer sutured anastomosis had a leak demonstrated radiographically, while no leakage was demonstrated in the ten dogs with combined anastomosis. In conclusion, intraluminal applied fibrin adhesive may contribute to the security of the sutured rectum-anastomosis.

The healing of the fibrin adhesive small intestinal anastomosis from 1/2 to 168 hours postoperatively was evaluated by the bursting strength method in 28 pigs. There were no clinical leaks. After an initial increase in strength, from 1/2 to 48 hours postoperatively, the strength of the anastomosis dropped to a low at 96 hours postoperatively. From then on, a steady increase in strength was observed. A similar pattern of healing has been observed for the sutured intestinal anastomosis.

This article presents a review of the literature concerning the employment of tissue adhesives in the production of intestinal anastomoses. The fibrin adhesive is the tissue adhesive of choice in as much as it is physiological does not possess histotoxicity or cause allergic reactions. Fibrin adhesive sealing of a conventional sutured anastomosis might improve this anastomosis as it reduced the postoperative mortality-rate significantly in a prospective study with a retrospectively matched control group comparing sealing and no sealing, but prospective, randomized trials are lacking. Finally a cyanoacrylate intestinal anastomosis has proved obsolete as in experimental trials it has proved inferior to the conventional anastomosis.