The effects of an intracolonic infusion of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) on the healing of colonic anastomosis in the rat were investigated. Thirty-three Sprague-Dawley rats underwent transection and anastomosis of the descending colon and transection and diversion of the ascending colon. The proximal limb of the ascending colon was exteriorized as an end colostomy, and the distal (defunctionalized) limb was cannulated for continuous infusion. Rats received either no infusion (N = 11) or an infusion of either electrolytes (N = 11) or SCFA (acetate, propionate, and butyrate; N = 11) into the defunctionalized colonic segment. On the sixth postoperative day bursting pressure (BP) and bowel wall tension (BWT) were determined. The occurrence of spontaneous anastomotic dehiscence was significantly less for the SCFA group (0/11) compared with the no infusion group (5/11, p less than 0.01). The anastomotic suture line burst in significantly fewer colons from the SCFA group (1/11) than either the electrolyte infusion (8/11, p less than 0.003) or the no infusion (6/6, p less than 0.001) groups. BP and BWT were significantly higher for the SCFA group (BP: 147 +/- 10 mm Hg; BWT: 59 +/- 1.0 dyne 10(3)/cm) than for either the electrolyte (BP: 99 +/- 30 mm Hg, p less than 0.002; BWT: 45 +/- 19, p less than 0.03) or no infusion (BP: 111 +/- 42, p less than 0.02; BWT 36 +/- 15, p less than 0.007) groups. The results of this study indicate that intracolonic infusion of SCFA resulted in significantly stronger colonic anastomosis in the rat.