• Sixty-five Sprague-Dawley rats underwent one of three procedures: (1) laparotomy without resection (n = 15); (2) 75% distal small-bowel resection, including the ileocecal valve (n = 25); and (3) 75% bowel resection, including ileocecal valve, and construction of a jejunal valve (n = 25). Rats were evaluated for survival, weight change, and transit time. Mortality was 0% in controls, 84% in group 2, and 28% in group 3 after three months. Rats with resection alone lost 29% of their initial weight, whereas rats with jejunal valves gained 24% over their preoperative weight. Transit time was three times slower in animals with valves. These data suggest that survival, transit time, and weight change are significantly improved in rats with massive bowel resection after construction of an artificial valve when compared with animals with resections alone. These observations imply that, in selected cases, an ileocecal valve replacement may have clinical usefulness.
(Arch Surg 1981;116:618-622)