The influence of locally applied vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) embedded in TachoSil® on esophagogastric anastomotic healing in a rat model

Background: Anastomotic leakage after esophageal surgery develops in 2% to 30% and is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. To prevent anastomotic leakage and its associated surgical complications, different procedures for anastomotic augmentation have recently been developed, e.g. omentoplasty or collagen-fibrin matrices (TachoSil®). Aim: i.) to establish a novel model of esophagogastric anastomosis in rats and ii.) to evaluate the effect of the use of TachoSil® – with or without the augmentation of VEGF. Methods: We developed a novel rat model of gastric tube formation followed by end-to-end esophago…