The correlation of histology to needle type in microvascular anastomoses: a quantitative analysis

This study was undertaken to quantitate the effects of needle trauma to the arterial wall during microvascular anastomoses. End-to-end anastomoses performed on rat femoral arteries were used as a model. Two weeks post-anastomoses, the specimens were processed and measured with a planimeter. The results were analysed statistically to evaluate the effects of different types of needles on the arterial wall. We found significant thickening of the arterial wall (P less than 0.01) but no difference in the amount of thickening between any of the needles evaluated. We found that certain needles were easier to use than others and have applied this observation to clinical work.