Surgical stapling equipment was used to perform open antiperistaltic side-to-side ("functional end-to-end") entero-anastomoses in 20 dogs and 4 cats. Twenty-one anastomoses healed uneventfully. Seven animals with severe bacterial peritonitis required open peritoneal drainage and delayed abdominal closure. There was postoperative leakage at the anastomotic site in two dogs and a localized abscess at the staple line in one cat. No long-term complications occurred in follow-up periods of 3 to 29 months.
Single or multiple rib resection was performed in 40 dogs for the treatment of primary osteosarcoma or chondrosarcoma. The resulting thoracic wall defect was closed with polypropylene (12 dogs), primary muscle flap (16 dogs), diaphragmatic advancement (10 dogs), or a combination (2 dogs). Few immediate (less than 2 weeks) postoperative complications were observed. Twenty dogs with osteosarcoma had a median survival time of 3.3 months (range, 0.5 to 23 months), with a 20% 6-month survival time. Metastases occurred in all the dogs. Fourteen dogs with chondrosarcoma followed up longer than 2 weeks had a median survival time of 10.7 months (range, 0.5 to 36 months) with a 64% 6-month survival time. Eight dogs developed metastases, five died from concurrent disease, and one dog is alive. Dogs with chondrosarcoma survived significantly longer than dogs with osteosarcoma. Survival time was not related to tumor size or number of ribs resected.
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