title: The changes seen in balloon-injured porcine femoral arteries following sympathectomy.
abstract: On the basis that vasoconstriction may contribute to restenosis following angioplasty, the influence of lumbar sympathectomy on the morphometry of femoral arteries after balloon injury was examined in a pig model. Twenty-six juvenile pigs underwent balloon de-endothelialization of the right femoral artery followed by an open bilateral lumbar sympathectomy (n = 14) or a sham sympathectomy (n = 12). Four weeks later flow was measured in femoral arteries. Animals were then killed and the femoral arteries were perfusion-fixed and harvested. Sympathectomy resulted in a significant (P = 0.04) increase in flow in both the injured (right) and uninjured (left) femoral arteries. Sympathectomy did not inhibit intimal thickening following balloon injury: median (interquartile range) intimal area was 0.4 mm2 (0.3-0.9) in the sympathectomy group versus 0.5 mm2 (0.4-0.9) in the sham group. Sympathectomy did, however, result in a significant (P = 0.02) increase in the lumen area: 1.1 mm2 (0.8-1.8) versus 0.7 mm2 (0.6-0.9). Sympathectomy may reduce vasospasm following angioplasty with the potential for clinical benefit.
authors.affiliation: University Department of Surgery, Fremantle Hospital, Australia.
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Lamawansa
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Wysocki
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: House
authors.forename: P E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Norman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005263:Femoral Artery / Q000473:pathology*; D008160:Lumbosacral Plexus / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D011184:Postoperative Period; D011897:Random Allocation; D013552:Swine; D013562:Sympathectomy; D017539:Tunica Intima / Q000473:pathology