Comparison of Different Pneumorrhaphy Methods after Partial Pulmonary Lobectomy in Dogs

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Manual sutures, staples, and tissue adhesives are indicated for pulmonary surgery. However, despite its well-recognized use, no suture material has yet been pointed out as completely safe in preventing air leakage, a major complication of pulmonary surgeries both in humans and dogs. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of the most common suture techniques and sealing devices after pulmonary lobectomy in dogs considering ventilatory pressures: physiological and supraphysiological. This study concludes that manual/mechanical sutures and synthetic glue sealants are efficient in preventing air leakage after partial lobectomy in dogs. ABSTRACT: Pulmonary loborraphy can be performed using manual sutures and staples, although other methods, such as tissue adhesives, are also cited in the veterinary literature. Although the surgery is well tolerated in the canine species, failure in pulmonary aerostasis is still a reality since all the methods described so far eventually lead to air leakage after the use of the partial lobectomy technique in the lungs. Within this context, the aim of this research was to compare the effectiveness of different hermetic sealing methods after partial lobectomy of the right caudal lung lobe (RCLL) in dogs. 30 cadavers models were divided in 6 groups: G1—cobbler suture associated with simple continuous; G2—overlapping continuous suture associated with simple continuous suture; G3—Ford interlocking suture; G4—Stapling device; G5—Tissue glue (cyanoacrylate). After performing the sealing techniques, the lungs were submerged in water and inflated with oxygen at positive ventilatory pressures at physiological (up to 14.7 mmHg, which is equivalent to up to 20 cmH(2)O) and supraphysiological levels (above 14.7 mmHg) to evaluate the performance of the sealing methods. At physiological ventilatory pressure levels, there was no difference between groups. Sealing with surgical glue was superior to interlocking sutures and stapling devices at supraphysiological levels of ventilatory pressure.