Local host response of commercially available dural patches for fetal repair of spina bifida aperta in rabbit model
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 14, 2025
Microsurgical Venous Pouch Arterial-Bifurcation Aneurysms in the Rabbit Model: Technical Aspects
Published on: May 11, 2011
Yada Kunpalin1,2, Simen Vergote1,3, Luc Joyeux4
1Department of Development and Regeneration, Cluster Woman and Child, Biomedical Sciences, MyFetUZ Fetal Research Center, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Objective:
Fetal surgery for spina bifida aperta (SBA) by open hysterotomy typically repairs anatomical native tissue in layers. Increasingly, fetoscopic repair is performed using a dural patch followed by skin closure. We studied the host response to selected commercially available patches currently being used in a fetal rabbit model for spina bifida repair.
Methods:
SBA was surgically induced at 23-24 days of gestation (term = 31 days). Fetal rabbits were assigned to unrepaired (SBA group), or immediate repair with Duragen™ or Durepair™. Non-operated littermates served as normal controls. At term, spinal cords underwent immunohistochemical staining including Nissl and glial fibrillary acidic protein. We hypothesized that spinal cord coverage with a dural patch and skin closure would preserve motor neuron density within the non-inferiority limit of 201.65 cells/mm2 and reduce inflammation compared to unrepaired SBA fetuses.
Results:
Motor neuron density assessed by Nissl staining was conserved both by Duragen (n = 6, 89.5; 95% CI -158.3 to -20.6) and Durepair (n = 6, 37.0; 95% CI -132.6 to -58.5), whereas density of GFAP-positive cells to quantify inflammation was lower than in unrepaired SBA-fetuses (SBA 2366.0 ± 669.7 cells/mm2 vs. Duragen 1274.0 ± 157.2 cells/mm2 ; p = 0.0002, Durepair 1069.0 ± 270.7 cells/mm2 ; p < 0.0001).
Conclusions:
Covering the rabbit spinal cord with either Duragen or Durepair followed by skin closure preserves motor neuron density and reduces the inflammatory response.
