Management of cardiorespiratory function of rabbits by a customized chest drain: An experimental study

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to salvage the study population from the fatality that occurs due to iatrogenic injury to the thoracic cavity’s pleural membrane. Materials and Methods: An experimental study of temporomandibular joint arthroplasty with costochondral graft was carried out on 72 healthy ‘ Oryctolagus cuniculus ’ species of male rabbits. The rabbits were distributed into two age groups: growing (3–4 months) and adult (12–18 months). All the procedures were carried out under general anesthesia with xylazine hydrochloride and ketamine hydrochloride after calculating the doses, maintained by halothane and O 2 inhalations. Out of 72 rabbits, 33 rabbits had accidental perforation of the pleural membrane observed that required a chest drain. Results: In this study, 21 (63.64%) rabbits received chest drain and salvaged. The rest of the rabbits ( n = 12; 36.36%) that did not receive any chest drain and died. Most of the rabbits ( n = 17; 81%) were under the growing group, weighing less than 2 kg and four (19%) were adult rabbits. Conclusion: This manual chest drain is life-saving for rabbits. It is a new addition to the advancement of thoracic surgery on animals. It is cost-effective and safe. The developed customized drainage system may make it easier to harvest the costochondral graft-related experiments.