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Histology surrounding cystotomy healing in a Sprague-Dawley rat model
Michelle Bilbao1, Alison Spaniol, Jeremy Bearss
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, 620 John Paul Jones Circle, Portsmouth, VA, 23462, USA.
Introduction And Hypothesis:
The purpose of this study was to histologically chronicle wound healing following cystotomy repair using a small animal model.
Methods:
Thirty female Sprague-Dawley rats were included in this study. Twenty-eight rats underwent a vertical cystotomy in the bladder dome, which was repaired in a single continuous fashion. Two rats served as histological controls. Following cystotomy repair, groups of three to four rats were studied at single day intervals for 4 days, then at 2-day intervals until 10 days post-repair. The animal bladders were harvested and examined for inflammation, scar formation, and bladder healing.
Results:
Thirty rat bladders were histologically examined. An inflammatory wound phase was observed during the first 4 days after wounding. Transition from acute to chronic inflammation was observed at day 2 with chronic inflammation persisting through day 10. Inflammation severity peaked 4 days post-wounding without regression through day 10. Evidence of proliferative phase wound healing was first observed 4 days post-wounding.
Conclusion:
Early increases in wound healing are due to inflammatory events such as fibrin plugging of the wound. Later developments after day 4 are due to wound proliferation, collagen deposition, and re-epithelialization. Additionally, wound healing in the rat bladder is observed on a continuum and not necessarily in discrete stages observed on precisely the same postoperative day in each animal.
