Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Rodents animal heart transplantation model was divided into working cast and non-working casts. Compared with working cast, non-working cast is characterized by short surgical time and high success rate, especially Heron method.
OBJECTIVE: To modify Heron’s technique for the model of heart transplant in rats in order to establish a more reasonable and practicable model so that it fits for the requirement of following experiment. 
METHODS: Heron’s technique was improved. The recipient’s right external jugular vein cannula was inserted into the donor’s right pulmonary artery. Right common carotid artery cannula was inserted into the heart aorta. Cerclage was used. Donor’s heart left pulmonary artery was ligated, and then model of modified heart transplant was rapidly and effectively established. Success rate, complication, total surgical time, set up time of recipient’s vessel cannula, donor’s heart selection time, transplantation time of the neck part and cold ischemia time of donor’s heart were observed.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Formal tests were consecutively performed 25 times by a single person. A total of 24 tests were successful, resulting in a success rate of 96%. There was no anastomosis leakage, recirculation disorder and recipient’s death after operation. The total time of surgical procedure was 50 to 60 minutes for each case. The time was respectively (18±3) minutes for preparing the recipient’s cervical vessel cannulas, (10±1) minutes for selecting the donor’s heart, (6±1) minutes for heart transplantation in cervical part and (16±1) minutes for cold ischemia of donor’s heart. Results suggest that the modified Heron’s technique was a more reasonable and practicable method to establish a reliable and high reproducible model of heart transplant that could be operated by surgeons without minimal microvascular technique and with short cold ischemia time.