【Animal Modeling】-Application of Intracavitary Shunt Plug in Heterotopic Abdominal Heart Transplantation in Rats

  Objective: To explore the application of intravascular shunt plug in establishing a rat model of heterotopic abdominal heart transplantation.

  Method: 40 male SD rats were divided into a conventional group and a modified group, and 20 animals in each group were anesthetized with 2% sodium pentobarbital. The donor rat was intubated through the oral trachea, the center of the chest cavity was opened, and then mechanical ventilation was performed. Approximately 10 mL of 4°CHTK solution was injected into the 20 G blunt needle inserted into the right common carotid artery to cause cardiac arrest. After obtaining the donor heart, store it in HTK solution at 4°C. In the traditional population, the classic rat abdominal heterotopic heart transplantation is still used for surgery. The modified group adopted the following method: clamp the inferior vena cava and abdominal aorta respectively, and place the shunt plug after cutting the blood vessel to fix both ends. The donor’s main pulmonary artery and ascending aorta are anastomosed at the recipient’s inferior vena cava and abdominal aorta. Re-clamp the inferior vena cava and abdominal aorta, remove the shunt plug, tie the exhaust tube to the knot, make sure that there is no bleeding, and then open the vascular clamp.

  The improvement team successfully performed 10 operations, and the donor's heart survived for more than 72 hours. No lower limb ischemia or paraplegia occurred, and no anastomosis was found. In the traditional group, 9 cases were successfully operated, and 1 case died from postoperative anastomotic bleeding. There was no significant difference in total operation time between the two groups. In terms of pathological symptoms of lower limb muscle tissue, total ischemic time, CKM and LDH content, the modified group is better than the traditional group.

  Conclusion: In rat abdominal heterotopic heart transplantation, intraluminal shunt plugs can be used to reduce the time of vascular blockage, reduce the difficulty of anastomosis, and increase the success rate of surgery.