[Billroth I anastomosis with biodegradable anastomosis ring in the animal model]. / Billroth-I-Anastomose mit dem Biofragmentierbaren Anastomosen-Ring (BAR) im Tiermodell.

In the present study, the Billroth-I anastomosis with the biofragmentable anastomosis ring was examined in dogs. 24 dogs were randomized into a group of manual suturing (n = 12) and a BAR-group (n = 12). In the group of manual suturing, a distal gastric resection and gastroduodenostomy with sero-submucous suture was performed. In the BAR-group, the distal gastric resection was done with the linear stapler PLC-75, whereby the BAR gastroduodenostomy crossed the stapling line. The dogs were evaluated on p.o. days 4, 14, and 30 and tested for bursting strength and bursting location, appearance of mucosa, hydroxyprolin concentration, and histologic features. There was no functional disorder in the gastrointestinal transit in any animal; in summary with regard to the various parameters, the crossing of BAR and stapling line does not represent any additional risk factor in the Billroth-I anastomosis in dogs.

[From Murphy's button to the Valtrac Ring. 100 years in search of a paradigm]. / Der Weg von Murphys Knopf zum Valtrac-Ring. 100 Jahre auf der Suche nach einem Paradigma.

In the context of continuous development in the area of anastomotic sutures leading to exceptional results in surgical practice, the biofragmentable anastomosis ring (BAR) described in 1985 by Hardy et al. represents a breakthrough in a 100 years' search of a paradigm. The first anastomotic button created in 1892 by J.B. Murphy was at once accepted as a quick and safe method of intestinal anastomosis. In 1896 Czerny demanded the following: "The task of technology is ... to create buttons with material that is entirely or partly dissolved in the intestinal lumen." Polyglycolic acid--developed in the sixties and now in widespread use for resorbable surgical sutures--was the material to fulfill the requirements already stated in the relevant literature 100 years ago, namely in the form of Hardy's BAR, which represents a redesigned Murphy button exploiting the recent biotechnological developments of this century.