Myocardial Metabolism after Collagen-Tube Revascularization of the Ischemic Heart: Experimental Study and Review of Literature*

This study involved 6 dogs in which collagen tubes had been implanted in the left ventricle, while the right ventricle was left as a control. The dogs had led a normal life for twelve months after operation. Studies of myocardial metabolism, initiated a year after collagen-tube revascularization, were performed as follows: Under anesthesia, samples of myocardium were taken from the left ventricle in which the left anterior descending coronary and circumflex coronary arteries had been ligated, and also from the right untreated ventricle. Oxygen uptake studies demonstrated that the myocardium of the treated ventricle respired at the same rate as that of the control ventricle, indicating that the revascularized tissue was efficiently perfused with blood and oxygen, that the cells of the revascularized myocardium were viable, and that the revascularization method would probably be adequate to maintain homeostasis in an ischemic heart. A review of the literature shows that previous methods of treatment leave much to be desired. This method is offered as another means of treating the ischemic heart early in the patient's history of complaints. The procedure is simple, does not require a pump oxygenator, and is not time-consuming. However, it does require a second operation to remove the polyethylene tube.