Combined preoperative irradiation and local hyperthermia delays early healing of experimental colonic anastomoses

Objective: To determine if a combination of preop erative irradiation and local hyperthermia of a colonic segment is detrimental to subsequent early anasto motic healing. Design: A prospective randomized experimental trial. Setting: An animal research laboratory. Interventions: Eighty male Wistar rats werd randomly divided into 4 groups. In each animal, a segment of the co lon was treated successively by (sham) irradiation and (sham) hyperthermia. After 5 days, a colonic resection was performed and an anastomosis was constructed; the distal limb con sisted of (sham) irradiated, (sham) hyperthermia-treated bowel. The rats were killed 3 or 7 days after surgery. M ain Outcome M easures: Body weight, serum albu min and protein levels, anastomotic bursting pressure