Use of cyanoacrylate gel as a substitute for dental cement in intracerebroventricular cannulations in rats.

ABSTRACT

This study was carried out to determine whether cyanoacrylate gel was suitable for use as a substitute for dental cement during brain implant surgery of rats. Intracerebroventricular (ICV) cannulations were performed in 24 rats by two surgeons, one with 3 years' experience in this type of surgery, and one novice, with only basic training performed on cadavers. Each surgeon prepared six randomly allocated animals using dental cement to secure the cannula and six with cyanoacrylate gel. Time to complete surgery was recorded. Wound healing was scored and body weight recorded for each animal every day for 7 days, then on day 14 after surgery. The use of gel led to an overall reduction in surgical time of 8 min (approximately 30%) per animal when compared with dental cement. No significant differences in the animals' recovery (wound healing and body weight) were found between surgeons or techniques. We find the use of cyanoacrylate gel to be a suitable and less time-consuming alternative to dental cement for ICV cannulations in rats.