RESUMO
In order to know the left colon anastomosis evolution with perforation and focus peritonitis, 40 male rats, Wistar-TECPAR, 135 days old and weighing 345 g in average were divided in two groups of 20 animals each. Group A was the control group and group B the experimental group. Submitted to a laparotomy, the B rats had a left colon wound 0.3 cm in diameter, 1.5 cm in distance from the peritoneal reflection. The A rats had only a intestinal handling. All rats had a new laparotomy after 24 hours; a resection and end-to-end anastomosis. An analysis was made on third and seventh days of the macro and microscopic evolution and bursting pressure. On the second laparotomy, in the B rats, peritonitis was absent and only local reaction was present. Dehiscence, fistula or peritonitis were absent at the observation on the third and seventh days. The anastomosis evolution was similar in the two groups. It was concluded that the focus peritonitis was not sufficient to modify the healing process of the left colon anastomosis in rats during the period studied.