Comparison of two laparoscopic suture patterns for repair of experimentally ruptured urinary bladders in normal neonatal calves

Objective-To compare 2 laparoscopic Suture patterns for repair of experimentally ruptured urinary bladders in normal neonatal calves. Study Design-Experimental surgical study. Animals-Thirty male Holstein calves. Methods-A bladder defect was created in 24 anesthetized calves (day 0). They were randomly divided into 4 groups (n = 6/group). In groups 1 and 3, the defect was closed laparoscopically using a one layer full thickness simple continuous (FTSC) suture pattern (pattern A). In groups 2 and 4, the defect was closed laparoscopically in 2 layers using a FTSC suture pattern followed by Lembert continuous Suture pattern (pattern 13). Groups 1 and 2 calves were euthanatized at the end of the surgery and groups 3 and 4 at day 10. Six healthy calves were also euthanatized and used as a control group. The bladders were harvested and tested for bursting strength (BS). The surgical time (ST) data from the two groups for each pattern were pooled. A Student t-test was used to compare ST data. For the BS data, a 2-factor ANOVA test with post-hoc Student t-test was used to determine if treatment, time, or treatment-time interaction was significant. A Dunnett's test was used to compare BS of the 4 treatment groups to the control group. P <.05 was considered significant. Results-Mean ST was significantly shorter for pattern A than for pattern B. III all treatment groups, the mean bladder BS (MBBS) was significantly lower than the MBBS for the control group. The MBBS was significantly lower for group I than for group 2. There was no significant difference in the MBBS between groups 3 and 4. Conclusion-In this study, a 1-layer laparoscopic closure technique had advantages compared with 2-layer laparoscopic Closure technique. Further work is required before a 1-layer laparoscopic closure technique can be recommended clinically. Clinical Relevance-One-layer bladder closure is fast and safe in clinically normal calves and permits additional research to evaluate its safety in foals and clinical ruptures. (c) Copyright 2005 by The American College of Veterinary Surgeons.