Acta Vet. Brno 2014, 83: 385-391
Laparoscopic cystostomy in pigs: Technique and comparison with traditional open cystostomy for surgical stress
Cystostomy is a common procedure in veterinary surgery. We describe a technique for laparoscopic cystostomy (LC group; n = 7) in Bama miniature pigs and compare the surgical stress induced by this procedure to open cystostomy (OC group; n = 7). A three-portal approach was used for laparoscopic cystostomy. First, we placed 2 simple interrupted sutures between the ventral body wall and urinary bladder. Then, a purse-string suture was placed in the urinary bladder wall, approximately 1 cm cranially to the two sutures. A stab incision was made at the center of the purse-string suture and a 12-F Foley catheter advanced into the urinary bladder; the suture was then pulled tightly and tied. Again, two interrupted sutures were placed 1 cm cranially to the catheter, between the ventral body wall and the bladder, to establish cystopexy. The extracorporeal portion of the catheter was fixed to the skin by a finger-trap suture. Blood samples were collected to measure the white blood cell count and serum concentrations of cortisol, interleukin-6, and C-reactive protein; follow-up laparoscopy was performed 1 month after the surgery. Laparoscopic cystotomy was successfully performed in all the pigs; the mean operating time was 43 ± 5 min. The levels of the stress markers reflected a lower stress response for LC than OC. Thus, LC appears to be better than OC both in terms of technique and physiological responses elicited, and may be more suitable than OC in the creation of experimental animal models for investigations on urinary diseases and those requiring diversion of urine flow.
