Vascular clamp with mononylon thread in experimental microsurgery

Introduction: Reconstructive microsurgery is now an inseparable and essential branch of plastic surgery. The training is long, has a relatively high financial cost and requires a lot of the proponents. To improve this equation in favor of the formation of new microsurgeons in Brazil, it is essential to facilitate access to experimental training, using simple materials. Huaraca described a technique using a simple 5-0 mononylon thread to replace the vascular clamp, which is an indispensable instrument for microsurgical anastomosis and is generally expensive. The objective is to compare the Huaraca technique with mononylon thread and the traditional metal clamp during vascular microsurgical anastomosis. Methods: Six Wistar rats whose both femoral arteries were randomly selected for end-to-end suture after complete section, with one side performed with usual vascular clamp and the contralateral with Huaraca technique, at the same surgical time and by the same surgeon. Results: In both situations, the patency rate was 67% after 72 hours, with an average time of 26 minutes with the Huaraca technique and 18 minutes with the traditional clamp (p=0.001). Conclusion: Despite the longer execution time, the Huaraca technique is a simple and low-cost measure that can replace the traditional vascular clamp.