Complications related to anastomosis failure are frequently described in the surgery of inflammatory bowel disease. The aim of the present study was to evaluated colonic wound healing in an inflamed bowel. Forty Wistar rats were divided in 2 groups: the control and experimental groups. In the experimental group, colitis was induced by the infusion of 10% acetic acid per rectum to understand how inflammation interferes with the healing process of intestinal. On the7th post-operative day an end to end colonic anastomosis was performed with interrupted suture. On the 3rd and 7th post-operative days, the anastomosis were evaluated. We observed that mortality and the number of complications were greater in the group of animals with inflammatory bowel disease. Dehiscence with peritonitis was the most common complication(p=0.0222). The bursting strength in the colons without leakage was lesser than those in the control group, however this difference was not statistically significant (p=0,0836). It was verified that the anastomosis performed in colons with inflammatory bowel disease showed greater total collagen concentration, with a predominance of immature collagen (type III) (p=0.0000). The mature collagen (type I) was the predominant collagen in the wounds of normal colon. (p=0.0102). On the 3th post-operative day It was also observed that the organization of collagen was poorer on the third day in the colonic wounds with inflammatory bowel disease. Nevertheless, the analysis of the inflammatory reaction at the level of the anastomosis was similar in both groups. These results suggest that inflammatory bowel disease increases the risks of anastomosis dehiscence, probably because of the delay in the maturation and the organisation of collagen.
Wound healing; Colon; Colitis
