The thermic vascular anastomosis (TVA). IV. Analysis by scanning electron microscopy.

In the present study 48 thermic vascular anastomoses performed in Sprague Dawley Wistar rats were subjected to analysis by scanning electron microscopy. Depending on the period of postoperative survival (up to 18 months) normal smooth endothelium, dissected cuffs and aneurysms were seen. Endothelial damage through heat application following bipolar coagulation was only slight. In one 18 months old anastomosis an aneurysm with a delicate network of endothelialized filaments was seen leaving a free passage for the blood flow centrally. A comparison of the literature describing the healing processes of intima following various traumas is made.