Efficacy of a sheet combined with fibrin glue in repair of pleural defect at the early phase after lung surgery in a canine model.

OBJECTIVE

Polyglycolic acid and oxidized regenerated cellulose have been widely used as a sealant for repairing pulmonary air leakage during respiratory surgery. However, fundamental research of these materials has not been sufficiently conducted. Therefore, we conducted studies to assess the pressure resistance ability of these materials using a canine visceral pleural defect model at the early phase.

METHOD: The 6-mm circular defect and the 12-mm square defect were created on the visceral pleura of anesthetized beagles. These defects were then repaired using one of four methods: method A using polyglycolic acid and fibrin glue; method B using oxidized regenerated cellulose and fibrin glue; method C using oxidized regenerated cellulose; method D using fibrin glue. Airway pressure was measured as bursting pressure when air leakage from the repaired areas occurred at 5 min, 3 h, and 24 h after repair.

RESULTS

For the 6-mm circle defect, method A showed higher bursting pressures than the other methods at 5 min and 3 h (p < 0.05); method B showed higher than methods C and D at 5 min and 3 h (p < 0.05). For the 12-mm square defect, method A showed higher bursting pressures than the other methods at all time points (p < 0.05). Moreover, method B showed higher than method C at 24 h (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Visceral pleural repairs using polyglycolic acid combined with fibrin glue showed the highest bursting pressure. Oxidized regenerated cellulose combined with fibrin glue showed sufficiently high bursting pressure in repair of small 6-mm circular defects.