Use of a bipolar sealing device to seal partial cystectomy with and without augmentation with a single-layer simple
Valery F Scharf1, Milan Milovancev2, Katy L Townsend2
1Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA.
Objective:
To evaluate the ability of a bipolar sealing device (BSD) to seal canine bladder tissue and to determine the influence of suture augmentation on resistance to leakage of sealed partial cystectomies.
Study Design:
Ex vivo, simple randomized study.
Sample Population:
Urinary bladders harvested from canine cadavers (n = 23).
Methods:
Partial cystectomy of the cranial third of each bladder was performed with a BSD. This seal was augmented with a simple continuous pattern of 4-0 polydioxanone in half of the specimens. A pressure transducer inserted through the ureter measured intraluminal pressure at initial leakage and catastrophic failure as dyed saline was infused via a catheter inserted through the urethra. Initial leakage pressure and pressure at catastrophic failure were compared between sutured and nonsutured sealed partial cystectomies.
Results:
Sutured sealed cystectomies showed initial leakage at lower pressures compared to non-sutured cystectomies (8.6 vs. 17.7 mm Hg; P = .0365) but were able to sustain greater pressures at catastrophic failure (34.3 vs. 21.8 mm Hg; P = .007). Catastrophic failure occurred along the seam of all nonsutured sealed cystectomies and at the suture holes in 10 of the 12 sutured bladders.
Conclusion:
Partial cystectomies were effectively sealed with a BSD in this canine cadaveric bladder model. Augmentation with a simple continuous suture pattern increased the pressure at which catastrophic leakage occurred but lowered initial leak pressure.
Clinical Significance:
This study provides evidence supporting the evaluation of BSD use for partial cystectomy in live animals.
