Objective:

To determine the efficacy of a pedicle gallbladder flap for the correction of duodenal lesions.

Material and methods:

Six pigs weighing between 20 and 30 kg were operated on. Under general intravenous anesthesia, a linear and longitudinal incision of five centimeters in length was made in the front between the first and second portion of the duodenum with a scalpel blade no. 15. The gallbladder was separated from the hepatic bed, the cystic duct was ligated, the vasculature was preserved (cystic artery), and the gallbladder flap with its artery was mobilized to the site of injury in the duodenum.

Results:

The pedicle flap of the gallbladder was successfully performed in six pigs; five of them tolerated the initial postoperative diet at 24 hours, one pig until 48 hours; all of them evacuated before 48 hours. No surgical wound infection data were found; there was no information suggestive of intestinal leakage, acute abdomen or systemic inflammatory response syndrome. None of the slaughtered pigs showed macroscopic leakage data. Histopathologically, we observed a complete adhesion of the vesicular patch in the lesions.

Conclusions:

The repair of duodenal defects can be performed by gallbladder flap with its pedicle sutured to the edges of the defect.