Permanent wall stretching in porcine coronary and internal mammary arteries.
BACKGROUND
Anastomotic connectors may induce substantial arterial wall deformation and, hence, wall injury. We studied arterial wall damage and repair after sustained large longitudinal elongation in the porcine coronary and internal mammary arteries in vivo.


METHODS
A stretch device that elongates a part of the artery by 80% was implanted in 8 pigs. Elongated coronary arteries (n = 14) and internal mammary arteries (n = 15) were examined histologically at either 2 days (4 pigs) or 5 weeks of follow-up (4 pigs).


RESULTS
No mural thrombus was observed at the elongated site. In the coronary artery at 2 days, few and only minor histologic changes were found. At 5 weeks, in two of seven coronary segments, a thin rim of intimal hyperplasia was found, in one case with a maximum thickness of 76 micro m. The internal mammary artery hardly showed any changes.


CONCLUSIONS
Permanent longitudinal elongation by 80% caused little structural changes in the porcine coronary and internal mammary artery wall. Anastomotic connectors that impose relatively large deformations can be safely evaluated in the pig.
van Andel
Carolien J
CJ
Experimental Cardiology Laboratory, Heart Lung Center Utrecht, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Pistecky
Peter V
PV
Gründeman
Paul F
PF
Buijsrogge
Marc P
MP
Borst
Cornelius
C
D000818:Animals; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000502:physiology*; D004548:Elasticity; D008323:Mammary Arteries / Q000502:physiology*; D013552:Swine; D013997:Time Factors