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A different technique to create a 'myelomeningocele-like' defect in the fetal rabbit
Denise A L Pedreira1, Paulo R Valente, Rogério C Abou-Jamra
1Experimental Surgery Department, Instituto Dante Pazzanese de Cardiologia, São Paulo, Brazil. denise.pedreira@fleury.com.br
Objective:
To evaluate the fetal survival rate using a modified technique to surgically create a 'myelomeningocele-like' defect in a rabbit model.
Methods:
Six white New Zealand rabbits had a spinal defect created in their fetuses at 23 days of gestation. At 30 days of gestation, the fetuses were harvested for anatomo-pathologic evaluation.
Results:
The defect was created in 19 fetuses and an attempt to correct it was made in 15 cases (group I), and 4 fetuses where left without correction (group II). At 30 days, a 'myelomeningocele-like' defect was present in all surviving fetuses. The total survival rate was 73.68% (14/19); 11 fetus survived in group I and 3 in group II.
Conclusion:
The technical modifications, including fetal positioning and exposure of its back prior to the incision of the lamina, associated with a different technique for myometrium closure, offer an alternative and probably safer method to surgically create a spinal defect in the fetal rabbit.