An oblique anastomosis has more linear length than a transverse anastomosis of a tubular structure in oesophageal anastomosis.

Introduction: Oesophageal stricture continues to be a challenging paediatric surgical problem. This study aimed to compare the results of oblique and transverse anastomosis to prevent anastomotic stricture that occurred following oesophageal repairs.

Materials And Methods: Twelve New Zealand rabbits were divided equally into two groups: oblique (O) and transverse (T). A 1-cm-long tract of the cervical oesophagus was resected through a cervical incision in both groups. Anastomosis was performed in both groups. Oesophagographic analysis was carried out on postoperative day 7 and the animals were fed orally on the same day on the condition that there was no oesophageal leakage. The rabbits were killed to measure diameters of the oesophageal lumen and bursting pressure (BP) in the anastomosis region 8 weeks later.

Results: The diameters of the oesophageal anastomosis lines (3.9 +/- 0.10 mm) in the O group were significantly greater than those (1.9 +/- 0.09 mm) in the T group (P < 0.05). The values of BP (189 +/- 10 mmHg) in the O group were also significantly higher than those (116 +/- 4 mmHg) in the T group (P < 0.05).

Conclusions: Our results suggested that oblique anastomosis is a better surgical procedure for preventing oesophageal stricture, as shown by the increased diameters of oesophageal anastomosis lines and BP.