Partial replacement of the oesophageal muscle layers by a carbon-fibre prosthesis

In the present study we report on the surgical replacement of the thoracic portion of oesophageal muscularis by a synthetic carbon fibre (CF) prothesis in a rabbit model. Our results, as corroborated by the oesophagograms and the post-operative weight gain, showed that this prothesis functioned satisfactorily for up to 6 weeks observation period. When the observation period was extended to 12 and 24 weeks after surgery, dilatation of the oesophagus at the prosthetic site was observed. All animals tolerated this dilatation and survived their intended observation period in good condition. In all these animals the body weight loss of -11.23 +/- 3.97% (p = 0.005) noted during the 1st week after the operation stopped and the body weight returned to its preoperative level within 3 weeks, as in the control groups. When the CF protheses were wrapped with a non-biodegradable polyurethane ether material with an elasticity of 19.2 g/mm, all rabbits died within 3 weeks or had to be sacrificed because of complications due to stagnation of food. In these rabbits the body weight decreased dramatically by -27.40 +/- 5.41% (p less than 0.001). In any similar future studies using the rabbit model, the post-operative body weight should provide a simple, sensitive and reliable monitoring tool for the functional assessment of the reconstructive procedure.