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World J Gastroenterol. Mar 7, 2026; 32(9): 114302
Published online Mar 7, 2026. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v32.i9.114302
Published online Mar 7, 2026. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v32.i9.114302
Establishing an esophago-pleural fistula disease model in rabbits with a magnetic compression technique
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.
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
Revised: November 23, 2025
Accepted: January 5, 2026
Published online: March 7, 2026
Processing time: 159 Days and 20.9 Hours
Core Tip
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.