Evaluation of Intestinal Staples for End‐to‐end Anastomosis of the Small Intestine in the Horse

Segments of jejunum that had been subjected to ischemia 1 month previously were resected en bloc in six horses. Everted end‐to‐end anastomoses were performed by application of double rows of stainless steel staples. The anastomotic sites were examined at 3 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, and 8 months postoperatively. All but one of the horses experienced colic at some point after the second postoperative week. At 3 weeks, there was extensive adhesion and stricture formation associated with the anastomoses. With increasing time postoperatively, there were progressively less severe adhesions and strictures. At 6 and 8 months, there was separation of the muscularis with noticeable thinning at the anastomotic site.