Modified technique of heterotopic heart allotransplantation in the rat

Summary

From Sept. 26, 1980 to Apr. 25, 1981, 74 heterotopic heart transplantations in rats (54 preparatory and 20 formal experiments) have been performed by modified Abbott-Ono’s method.

Hybrid male rats were used as recipients and donors. By using micro-surgical technique (10 x) all vascular anastomoses were done satisfactorily. The thoracic aorta of the donor heart was anastomosed end-to-side to the abdominal aorta of the recipient, the pulmonary artery of the donor heart to the abdominal inferior vena cava of the recipient in the same manner, and the other vessels of the donor heart were ligated. Following revascularization, effective ventricular contraction appeared spontaneously within 2 minutes. No artificial pacemaker was needed for resuscitation.

Of the 20 transplanted animals, 14 survived more than 7 days (70%) and 8 more than 14 days (40%) without immunosuppressive therapy; the longest survivor lasted for more than one year with the mean survival time being 9 days. Pathological examinations showed that 12 transplanted hearts (60%) had definite histological evidences of rejection.