Evaluation of fibrin, cyanoacrylate, and polyurethane-based tissue adhesives in sutureless vascular anastomosis: a comparative mechanical ex vivo study

The stability of a microvascular anastomosis is an important prerequisite for successful tissue transfer. Advances in tissue adhesives are potentially opening new avenues for their use in sutureless microsurgical anastomosis, however they have not yet gained clinical acceptance. In this ex vivo study, a novel polyurethane-based adhesive (PA) was used in sutureless anastomoses and its stability compared with that of sutureless anastomoses performed with fibrin glue (FG) and a cyanoacrylate (CA). Stability was assessed using hydrostatic (15 per group) and mechanical tests (13 per group). A total of 84 chicken femoral arteries were used in this study. The time taken to create the PA and CA anastomoses was significantly faster when compared to the FG anastomoses (P < 0.001): 1.55 +/- 0.14 min and 1.39 +/- 0.06 min, respectively, compared to 2.03 +/- 0.35 min. Both sustained significantly higher pressures (289.3 mmHg and 292.7 mmHg, respectively) than anastomoses using FG (137.3 mmHg) (P < 0.001). CA anastomoses (0.99 N; P < 0.001) and PA anastomoses (0.38 N; P = 0.009) could both withstand significantly higher longitudinal tensile forces compared to FG anastomoses (0.10 N). Considering the background of an in vitro study, the PA and CA anastomosis techniques were shown to be similar to each other and superior to FG, due to their stability and faster handling. These findings need to be validated and confirmed in further in vivo studies.