An Experimental Preparation Suitable for Studying the Effect of Bacterial Contamination and Infection upon the Healing of Colon Wounds

The chief danger of colon operations in the preantibiotic era was thought to be sepsis. Though, no doubt, actual infection of the bowel ends will prevent their healing, it has never been proven that mere contamination with organisms from the fæces or from surrounding peritonitis will produce infection sufficient to cause anastomotic breakdown, provided that the bowel wall is normal and that apposition, blood supply and peritoneal defences are adequate. In order to test specifically the effect of bacterial contamination and infection upon colon wound healing, a dog experimental model has been devised in which other factors affecting colon healing are controlled, and in which concomitant abscess formation is induced adjacent to the healing suture line, peritonitis being avoided by extraperitonealizing the colon in a subcutaneous pouch.