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Published on: April 4, 2025
Laparoscopic partial nephrectomy in rats
Fernando Meyer1, Sérgio Ossamu Ioshii, Eduardo Wei Kin Chin
1Division of Pathology, Surgery Department,PUCPR, Brazil. fmeyer@onda.com.br
Purpose:
To establish an experimental model of laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (LPN) in rats and to analyze morphological alterations in the renal parenchyma utilizing an electric cautery and harmonic scalpel.
Methods:
Forty Wistar rats were used, divided in 2 experiments with 20 rats each: experiment I, LPN was performed with an electric cautery and the rats were subdivided into groups A and B; experiment II, LPN was performed with a harmonic scalpel and they were subdivided into groups C and D. The animals in groups A and C were sacrificed shortly after surgery and the remnant kidney was removed to study the following variables: necroses and degeneration. In groups B and D a laparatomy was performed for retrieval of the remnant kidney on the 14th day after surgery to analyze fibrous scarring.
Results:
For the variables necroses and fibrous scarring, the electric cautery creates, on average, greater width than that produced by the harmonic scalpel (p=0.0002 and p=0.0068 respectively). Regarding the variable of degeneration, we found no significant difference between the two types of scalpels (p=0.1267).
Conclusions:
LPN in rats is an adequate and feasible experimental model. The electric cautery caused greater damage to remnant renal tissue when compared to harmonic scalpel.
