Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 1997; 45(4): 168-171
DOI: 10.1055/s-2007-1013717
Original Cardiovascular

© Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York

Damage to Arterial and Venous Endothelial Cells in Bypass Grafts Induced by Several Solutions Used in Bypass Surgery

U. Schaeffer1 , B. Tanner2 , T. Strohschneider1 , A. Stadtmüller1 , A. Hannekum1
  • 1Department of Heart Surgery, University of Ulm
  • 2Departrnent of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University of Mainz, Germany
Further Information

Publication History

1996

Publication Date:
19 March 2008 (online)

Abstract

The purpose of our study was to evaluate the cytotoxicity of incubation Solutions used in heart surgery to endothelial cells. The endothelial layer of human saphenous veins (HSV) and bovine internal mammary arteries (BMA) and veins (BMV) were studied after a two-hour storage interval and compared with control vessel segments prepared immediately after harvesting. To visualize the endothelial cell damage, specimens were stained with a silver nitrate technique. The surface covered by lightmicroscopically intact endothelial cells was computed in percent. In the control HSV segments 70.8 ± 4.6% of the endothelium were found to be morphologically intact. The results for stored HSV Segments were 50.0 ± 4.2% (Bretschneider's Solution), 14.8 ± 4.5% (physiological saline), 0.45 ± 0.1% (physiological saline with heparin), 16.7 ± 4.7% (Ringer's lactate) and 37.2 ± 5.3% (heparinized blood). Comparable values obtained with BMA specimens were 98.3 ± 0.7% (controls), 78.1 ± 4.7% (Bretschneider's Solution), 39.2 ± 3.3% (physiological saline), 8.4 ± 2.0% (physiological saline with heparin), 11.3 ± 1.7% (Ringer's lactate) and 67.8 ± 6.2 % (heparinized blood). A similar trend was found with BMV segments: 85.2 ± 4.7% (controls), 75.6 ± 6.0%(Bretschneider'sSolution), 49.5 ± 8.9%(physiological saline), 5.95 ± 0.7% (physiological saline with heparin), 6.2 ± 0.7% (Ringer's lactate) and 54.3 ± 5.1 % (heparinized blood). In conclusion, Bretschneider's Solution proved to be superior for storage of bypass grafts in comparison to all other tested solutions in this series.