Introduction Intestinal anastomosis is a surgical practice constantly realized by surgeons worldwide. When the option is to perform manual anastomosis, which is still widely used for its low cost, the question arises as to the best material to be applied.
Objective To compare polydioxanone and polyglactin threads for healing and tensile strength in intestinal anastomosis in rats.
Method We used 25 rats Wistar; after anesthesia, in groups A and B (10 rats each), laparotomy was performed, transection of the ileum at 5 and 10 cm proximally to the ileocecal valve; in group A, anastomosis was performed with 4 separate extra mucosal sutures with polidioxanone; in group B, anastomosis was performed with polyglactin; in group C (5 rats), laparotomy and manipulation of the ileum were performed. After 21 days, the animals were anesthetized and submitted to euthanasia. The specimens were sent for histopathological study and tensile strength analysis. Statistical analysis was performed using the Turkey and Student's t tests, with a significance of p < 0.05.
Results The results showed that in the tensile strength analysis, there were no significant differences between them. The histological analysis showed significant differences between the cicatrization pattern, where polydioxanone caused less fibrosis than polyglactin.
Conclusion Polydioxanone caused less fibrosis than polyglactin in intestinal anastomoses of rats.