He Q, Chen XY, Xiang Q, Huang CH, Wu ZW. Establishing an esophago-pleural fistula disease model in rabbits with a magnetic compression technique. World J Gastroenterol 2026; 32(9): 114302 [DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v32.i9.114302]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Zhi-Wei Wu, MD, Postdoc, The Hunan Provincial Key Lab of Precision Diagnosis and Treatment for Gastrointestinal Tumor, Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, No. 87 Xiangya Road, Changsha 410000, Hunan Province, China. zhiweiwu@csu.edu.cn
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Basic Study
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This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Mar 7, 2026 (publication date) through Mar 2, 2026
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Journal Information of This Article
Publication Name
World Journal of Gastroenterology
ISSN
1007-9327
Publisher of This Article
Baishideng Publishing Group Inc, 7041 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 160, Pleasanton, CA 94566, USA
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He Q, Chen XY, Xiang Q, Huang CH, Wu ZW. Establishing an esophago-pleural fistula disease model in rabbits with a magnetic compression technique. World J Gastroenterol 2026; 32(9): 114302 [DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v32.i9.114302]
Qing He, Chang-Hao Huang, Zhi-Wei Wu, The Hunan Provincial Key Lab of Precision Diagnosis and Treatment for Gastrointestinal Tumor, Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha 410000, Hunan Province, China
Xiang-Yu Chen, Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha 410000, Hunan Province, China
Qin Xiang, Hunan Provincial University Key Laboratory of the Fundamental and Clinical Research on Neurodegenerative Diseases, Changsha Medical University, Changsha 410000, Hunan Province, China
Chang-Hao Huang, Zhi-Wei Wu, Organ Transplantation Center, Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha 410000, Hunan Province, China
Co-corresponding authors: Chang-Hao Huang and Zhi-Wei Wu.
Author contributions: Wu ZW and Huang CH conceived and designed the study, and bore all experimental and article publication costs. As Wu ZW also led the modeling work, making a critical contribution to the project’s completion, he qualifies as a co-first corresponding author. Huang CH, who covered the majority of the research expenses and was deeply involved in experimental design and data analysis, qualifies as the co-corresponding author. He Q was responsible for fabricating the modeling tools, creating all figures, and writing and revising the manuscript, in addition to assisting with all modeling work. Due to his substantial contribution, He Q is eligible to be the sole first author of the paper. Chen XY was responsible for staining, scanning, and interpretation of pathological samples, providing important input, and is listed as the second author. Xiang Q assisted with literature retrieval and post-modeling surgery data collection and is listed as the third author. All authors have made respective contributions to this research in different capacities and have read and approved the final manuscript.
Institutional animal care and use committee statement: The animal use protocol was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of the Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, China (Approval No. 2021491).
Conflict-of-interest statement: There is no conflict of interest among the authors.
ARRIVE guidelines statement: The authors have read the ARRIVE Guidelines, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the ARRIVE Guidelines.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Corresponding author: Zhi-Wei Wu, MD, Postdoc, The Hunan Provincial Key Lab of Precision Diagnosis and Treatment for Gastrointestinal Tumor, Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, No. 87 Xiangya Road, Changsha 410000, Hunan Province, China. zhiweiwu@csu.edu.cn
Received: September 22, 2025 Revised: November 23, 2025 Accepted: January 5, 2026 Published online: March 7, 2026 Processing time: 159 Days and 20.9 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Esophageal pleural fistula (EPF) primarily arises as a complication of esophageal surgery, malignant tumors, or trauma. The high mortality rate associated with EPF underscores the critical need for early diagnosis and aggressive treatment, which often involves a multidisciplinary approach including thoracic drainage, broad-spectrum antibiotics, nutritional support, and often surgical or endoscopic intervention. Despite its clinical severity, a corresponding animal disease model for mechanistic and therapeutic research remains unavailable.
AIM
To establish a stable and reproducible EPF animal model using magnetic compression technology (MCT).
METHODS
EPF modeling surgery was successfully performed on 20 New Zealand white rabbits (weight: 2-3 kg) with our self-developed MCT device. Postoperatively, radiographic confirmation of magnet positioning was conducted within 24 hours. Fistula tract tissue samples were subjected to hematoxylin-eosin and Masson’s trichrome histochemical staining. Pathological specimens were intentionally withheld from a subset of rabbits (n = 8) to assess long-term stability; these animals were monitored for a prolonged period until postoperative day (POD) 30 before euthanasia, allowing for observation of chronic changes.
RESULTS
The rabbit model of EPF was successfully established. The average surgical time was 26.6 ± 4 minutes. Magnets were spontaneously excreted at 7.0 ± 0.7 days postoperatively (n = 18/20). Pleural abscesses developed in 14 rabbits (70%). All rabbits (n = 8) reached the 30-day endpoint without intervention. Data analysis revealed no significant correlation between the abscess size, surgery time, anesthesia time, magnet discharge time, and weight changes within POD 9. Gross pathology confirmed the formation of EPFs and pleural abscesses. Spontaneous healing tendencies were observed in a subset of fistulas (n = 6). Histological analysis revealed esophageal epithelial migration advancing toward the fistula lumen, whereas pleural abscess cavities contained extensive necrotic debris characterized by neutrophilic infiltration and fibrin deposition, collectively validating the model’s success.
CONCLUSION
The magnetic compression-derived rabbit EPF model exhibits high establishment success and prolonged viability, enabling robust pathophysiological research.
Core Tip: This study successfully established a novel and stable rabbit model of esophageal pleural fistula (EPF) using a self-developed magnetic compression technology (MCT) device. The model demonstrates high success rates, spontaneous magnet excretion, and allows for the study of both acute and chronic pathological changes, including pleural abscess formation and spontaneous healing tendencies. This reproducible MCT-based model provides a valuable tool for future mechanistic and therapeutic research on EPF.
