title: Modified suture technique in a mouse heart transplant model.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The mouse abdominal heart transplantation model is a basic and important immunological research model. We developed a technique for placing entire everting sutures instead of half inverting and half everting sutures for anastomosis between donor and recipients' caval veins. The purpose of this study was to evaluate this modified method.
  
  
  METHODS
  Each technique was used in 25 mice subjected to isogenic abdominal heart transplantation. Recipient operation time, graft warm ischaemia time, time of caval anastomosis, and re-beating time were recorded. After transplantation, the heartbeat was palpated through the abdominal wall once a day for 100 days.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Recipient operation time (40.7 ± 2.5 min vs. 44.3 ± 2.3 min, p < 0.01), cava-caval anastomosis time (8.4 ± 1.3 min vs. 12.1 ± 1.2 min, p < 0.01), and warm ischaemia time were significantly shorter (23.4 ± 1.7 min vs. 27.2 ± 1.6 min, p < 0.01) with the modified technique. Re-beating time was 1.2 ± 0.4 minutes with the modified technique vs. 1.5 ± 0.5 minutes (p = 0.04). There was a tendency for less surgical complications in the modified group, but there were no differences in survival rates.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The new suturing technique for mouse cardiac transplantation facilitates easier anastomosis of the outflow tract, thereby reducing operation, warm ischaemia, and re-beating times.
authors: Department of Nephrology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany.
authors: Song
authors: S
authors: Su
authors: Tobias R
authors: TR
authors: Türk
authors: Shengli
authors: S
authors: Wu
authors: Hua
authors: H
authors: Fan
authors: Jian
authors: J
authors: Fu
authors: Kun
authors: K
authors: Wu
authors: Ulrich
authors: U
authors: Flögel
authors: Zhaoping
authors: Z
authors: Ding
authors: Andreas
authors: A
authors: Kribben
authors: Oliver
authors: O
authors: Witzke
mesh_terms: D000714:Anastomosis, Surgical / Q000379:methods; D000818:Animals; D001012:Aorta, Abdominal / Q000601:surgery; D016027:Heart Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008866:Microsurgery; D023421:Models, Animal; D013536:Suture Techniques; D014682:Vena Cava, Inferior / Q000601:surgery