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Updated: Jun 30, 2026
A Pleural Effusion Model in Rats by Intratracheal Instillation of Polyacrylate/Nanosilica
Published on: April 12, 2019
Electrocautery-Assisted Pleural Puncture for a Highly Reproducible Rat Pneumothorax Model
Atsushi Suga, Tomoki Nakagawa1, Hajime Watanabe
1Division of General Thoracic Surgery Tokai University Hachioji Hospital, 1838 Ishikawamachi, Hachioji, Tokyo 192-0032, Japan. lovehohono@gmail.com.
Objective:
To describe a simple and reproducible rat pneumothorax model that is suitable for future sealant testing.
Methods:
Female Wistar rats (16 weeks) underwent left thoracotomy under mechanical ventilation. While the lung was inflated, the visceral pleural surface was cauterized using monopolar electrocautery with a ball electrode (coagulation mode, power 20%, 0.5 s), and then punctured with a 21G needle to a depth of 0.5 cm (Model E). The air-leak threshold airway pressure was measured using a water seal test. Pneumothorax and re-expansion were assessed by fluoroscopy, and pleural repair was evaluated histologically at 4 weeks.
Results:
Pneumothorax was induced in all rats (12/12) without procedure-related mortality. The air-leak threshold pressure ranged from 12 to 25 cm H2O (mean 17.3; median 16). All rats showed complete lung re-expansion at 1 week. Histological findings revealed fibrotic pleural repair (~100 nm thick) with preserved deep alveolar architecture.
Conclusion:
Electrocautery-assisted pleural puncture provides a feasible and reproducible rat pneumothorax model for subsequent preclinical studies.
