ABSTRACT

Segments from the stomach, jejunum, ileum and colon may be used for esophageal replacement when irreversible injury of the esophagus prevents passage. Of these techniques colon interposition is the most preferred method. Reperfusion damage develops at a certain rate in colon grafts used for esophageal replacement as with all other surgical methods where grafts are used. It is known that erythropoietin hormone may have a tissue-protective effect in ischemia/ reperfusion. Ischemic changes developing in mucosal cells in the graft ends after creating a left colon graft in rats and the effect of intraperitoneal erythropoietin administration on these changes were investigated in the present study. A total of 56 subjects were randomly divided into four main groups of Sham (n=14), Sham+erythropoietin (n=14), colon graft (n=14) and colon graft+erythropoietin (n=14), and each group was divided into 2 subgroups. Histopathological examination was performed to the first subgroup one day and to the second subgroup 7 days after reoperation. There was significantly much more mucosal damage in the colon graft group in comparison to the postoperative day 1 and 7 proximal ends between the colon graft and colon graft+erythropoietin groups. Results of the present study showed that intraperitoneal erythropoietin administration significantly decreased mucosal damage in rats in which a colon graft was prepared.