A Comparative Study of Intestinal Anastomoses

INVERTING serosa-to-serosa intestinal anastomoses have been generally accepted as the procedure of choice in making a union between two bowel segments. Two other methods have recently appeared in the surgical literature: the inserting of the proximal end of the bowel into the distal portion in conjunction with the use of adhesives and the more startling use of an eversion rather than inversion type of anastomosis. 1-6 We have been dissatisfied with the conventional inverting anastomosis in the dog where bowel thickness and spasm make suturing more difficult than in the human. The overlapping technique with sutures instead of adhesives seemed to offer advantages. A study was carried out in dogs comparing inverting end-to-end anastomoses with an overlapping type using sutures. Methods Thirty-three mongrel dogs were used with-out any bowel preparation except withholding food the day before surgery. Eleven of the animals received an overlapping end-to-end anastomosis, 11 received the inverting