Stopping a Leak with Pig Gut
by Mark Derewicz
(filed under: surgery)
Becky Brown had to undergo five surgeries and was about to have a sixth before UNC radiologist Joe Stavas developed a new way to repair Brown’s two recurring fistulae.
A fistula is an abnormal tunnel that connects an internal organ to the surface of the skin. Brown’s fistulae formed when an internal abscess caused by Crohn’s disease burst and leaked fluids. Her body’s response was to create a channel to drain the fluids.
Instead of cutting into Brown’s abdomen to insert a fistula plug, Stavas used a catheter to thread a new kind of plug through the abdominal cavity until it reached the intestine. Doctors use a similar method for heart catheterizations and for removing blood clots in the brain, but Stavas is the first to use a catheter for fistula repair.
The plug he used was derived from pig intestines. It prompts the body’s surrounding tissue to regenerate, closing the hole and allowing the patient to heal. “This is a form of tissue bioengineering,” Stavas says, “and shows promise for future applications of tissue regeneration for wounds and stem cell growth.”
Brown needed six weeks to recover from her traditional surgeries. Each time, at least one fistula reformed. But after Stavas’s procedure, Brown says, “I was back at work the next day.” A year later, no fistulae have returned.
Joseph Stavas is the vice chairman of vascular and interventional radiology and associate professor of radiology in the School of Medicine. Cook Biotech Inc. made the fistula plug that Stavas uses.
