Resumo

FREITAS, P.M.C. et al. Eletro-acupuncture in the rabbit acchiles tendon repair using bovine peritoneum graft. Arq. Bras. Med. Vet. Zootec. [online]. 2010, vol.62, n.2, pp. 324-331. ISSN 0102-0935.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-09352010000200012.

The effects of eletro-acupuncture (EA) were evaluated on clinical and histological aspects in 36 rabbits that had the acchiles tendon sectioned and grafted after 30 days using bovine peritoneum graft preserved in saturated salt solution. The animals were randomly distributed into three groups. They were stimulated by EA from the 2^nd to the 11^th post-operative day (S10 group), from the 11^th to the 31^st post-operative day (S20 group), and were not stimulated (C group). Then, the rabbits were distributed into three sub-groups and were observed for 11, 31, and 91 days. The rabbits from S10 and S20 groups presented decreased adhesions between graft and adjacent tissues. The rabbits from S10 group showed connective tissue at 31 days of the post-operative period. Intense graft neovascularization was observed in all animals stimulated by EA. Large amounts of connective tissue with organized and parallel to the tendon axis collagen fibers were detected on the day 91^st in the S10 group animals. The early EA stimulation during the post-operative period stimulated the tendon healing with minimal inflammatory reaction.

Palavras-chave : rabbit; eletro-acupuncture; graft; tendon; biological membrane.