ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To assess the efficacy of ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer (Uryx) in nonsurgically occluding the fallopian tube and achieving tubal sterilization in the rabbit model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ten mature virgin female New England rabbits underwent transvaginal selective bilateral fallopian tube cannulation with use of a coaxial catheter system under general anesthesia. Selective salpingography was performed bilaterally to assess patency of the fallopian tubes. Ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer was injected unilaterally through a microcatheter to completely fill the middle portion of the tube. Three to seven days after injection, each animal was bred. Conception was determined by ultrasonography (US) 7-19 days after effective breeding. If pregnant, the rabbit was killed. Otherwise, it was permitted to rebreed until pregnancy was achieved. Histologic specimens of the fallopian tubes were prepared and analyzed. RESULTS: Patency of the fallopian tubes was demonstrated bilaterally in all animals by the free spillage of contrast material into the peritoneum. The delivery of ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer into the fallopian tubes was successful in all animals but one, in which most of the plug almost immediately extruded into the uterus. Pregnancy was detected by US in the untreated fallopian tube in the nine rabbits that were receptive to breeding. No pregnancies were detected in the injected side. Histologic analysis demonstrated variable degrees of occlusion, fibrosis, and inflammation, with the majority of specimens demonstrating mild to moderate inflammation and moderate to marked fibrosis. CONCLUSION: Ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer can reliably be placed nonsurgically via the transvaginal approach into the fallopian tubes with use of a coaxial catheter system. Ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer appears to result in less fibrosis than previously investigated agents and demonstrates a 100% early sterilization rate in the rabbit model.
Subject(s)
Catheterization/methods , Fallopian Tubes/surgery , Polyvinyls , Sterilization, Tubal/methods , Animals , Embolization, Therapeutic , Fallopian Tube Patency Tests , Fallopian Tubes/anatomy & histology , Female , Injections , Male , Models, Animal , Polyvinyls/administration & dosage , Pregnancy , RabbitsSubject(s)
Cryosurgery/methods , Kidney Neoplasms/surgery , Laparoscopy , Ultrasonography, Interventional , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Female , Humans , Kidney Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging , Male , Middle AgedABSTRACT
Our purposes were to determine whether sonography can distinguish between obstructed and nonobstructed rats and to compare the diagnostic accuracy of sonography and radiography in the diagnosis of small bowel obstruction. Nonstrangulating small bowel obstruction was created in 19 rats; sham laparotomies were performed in 18 controls. Serial radiographs and sonograms, including duplex Doppler sonography, were obtained. Bowel diameter and bowel wall thickness were evaluated retrospectively. Bowel diameter, bowel wall thickness, and resistive indices increased in the animals with obstruction; controls remained unchanged (P = 0.002). Sonography demonstrated a significantly higher diagnostic accuracy than radiography at 24 hours and beyond (P = 0.023). Ultrasonography is sensitive and more accurate than radiography in diagnosing small bowel obstruction using objective criteria in the animal model.
