Performance time and leak pressure of hand‐sewn and skin staple intestinal anastomoses and enterotomies in cadaveric cats

Objective To compare time to construct completion and leak testing between hand‐sewn and skin staple anastomoses and enterotomies in cats. Study design Ex vivo, randomized study. Animals Fresh feline cadavers ( n = 20). Methods Jejunal segments (8 cm) were harvested and tested on the same day as euthanasia. From each cadaver, one segment was randomly assigned to control (C), hand‐sewn enterotomy (HSE), and skin staple enterotomy (SSE) groups, and two segments were randomly assigned to hand‐sewn anastomosis (HSA) and skin staple anastomosis (SSA) groups. Construct completion time, initial leak pressure (ILP), and maximum intraluminal pressure were compared. Leakage location was reported. Results Mean time (s) ± SD was longer ( p < .001) for HSA (317.0 ± 50.9) than SSA (160.8 ± 13.1) and for HSE (172.0 ± 36.5) than SSE (20.3 ± 5.0). ILP (mean ± SD) for C (600.0 mmHg ±0.0) was higher ( p < .001) than all constructs. ILP (mean ± SD) for SSA (124.2 mmHg ±83.7) was not different ( p = .49) than HSA (86.1 ± 51.9), but HSE (200.3 ± 114.7) was higher ( p < .001) than SSE (32.2 ± 39.7). Immediate leakage from the center of enterotomy closure was observed in 7/20 SSE. Conclusions HSA construct completion took twice as long as SSA with no difference in intraluminal pressures. Although HSE construct completion took 8x as long as SSE, HSE had higher intraluminal pressures. Clinical significance In cats, SSA may be an alternative to HSA for intestinal anastomosis, but SSE is not recommended as an alternative to HSE for intestinal enterotomy closure.