The effects of bevacizumab on intestinal anastomotic healing in rabbits

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the preoperative administration of BV on the healing process of intestinal anastomosis in a rabbit model. Twenty male white rabbits were randomly divided into two groups. The control group received saline 1 week before surgery, and the BV group received intravenous BV 1 week before surgery. Each rabbit underwent an enteroenterostomy and a colocolostomy. On postoperative day 7, the bursting pressures of the anastomoses, CD31 and alpha-smooth muscle actin (alpha-SMA) staining by immunohistochemistry, the gene expression of alpha-SMA, and collagen deposition using Picrosirius Red at the site of anastomosis were evaluated. The bursting pressure of small bowel anastomoses was significantly lower in the BV group than in the control group (control 184 +/- A 10 mmHg vs. BV 140 +/- A 9 mmHg; p = 0.004). The microvessel counts in the anastomotic tissue were significantly lower in the BV group than in the control group in both the small bowel (p = 0.023) and colon (p = 0.008). The expression of alpha-SMA, and the degree of collagen deposition decreased in the anastomotic tissue in the BV group compared with the control group. The preoperative use of BV may therefore negatively affect the rigidity of intestinal anastomosis.