Experimental orthotopic heart autotransplantation.
Expanding interest in heart transplantation has raised important questions about graft atherosclerosis and in pediatric patients the growth and development of the denervated heart. Models used to study graft atherosclerosis and the development of the immature transplanted heart require appropriate controls. We have developed a technique for orthotopic autotransplantation of the heart in sheep that allows preservation of the sinoatrial node and maintenance of sinus rhythm after reimplantation. The autotransplantation model is potentially useful, since graft rejection can be eliminated without immunosuppressive therapy in a large, outbred species.
DiSesa
V J
VJ
Department of Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
Cohn
L H
LH
D000818:Animals; D016027:Heart Transplantation; D007430:Intraoperative Care; D012756:Sheep; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous