Everted Suturing of the Inferior Vena Cava Is Addressed in the Abdominal Mouse Heart Transplant Model.

OBJECTIVES: Our objective was to investigate the techniques of vessel suturing in the abdominal mouse cardiac transplant model and animal outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Our mouse group included 92 female inbred mice, in which 46 abdominal mouse heart transplants were performed. During transplant, the openings for the aorta and the inferior vena cava were not parallel. With everted anastomosis, the ascending aortae and the pulmonary arteries of donors were connected to the abdominal aortae and interior vena cavae of recipients, respectively, with 11-0 Prolene suture. We recorded complications and animal survival. RESULTS: The first 2 mice that underwent the procedure died of blood loss on day 1. However, the remaining 44 mouse recipients were alive for greater than 14 days, resulting in 14-day survival rate of 95.65%. Range of time to complete the whole procedure, including learning curve, was 47 to 72 minutes. At histology, implanted hearts from recipients with long-term survival appeared normal. CONCLUSIONS: The procedure for everted suturing in the abdominal mouse heart transplant model was easy to perform and had a high success rate.