The sheep as an experimental animal for tracheal surgery

Resection and end-to-end anastomosis of the trachea are the preferred treatments for various benign and malignant diseases involving the trachea. Various suture techniques and suture materials have been reported; however, some basic questions are still unsolved. Most basic work has been done in dogs, but they are expensive to acquire and keep. Therefore, we evaluated the sheep as an experimental animal for tracheal surgery. We report on our results with sheep regarding anaesthesia, surgical procedure, and tracheal cross-sectional area. Sheep proved to be excellent experimental animals for surgical research regarding tracheal resections and end-to-end anastomosis.