Surgical preparation of a permanent carotid transposition in sheep

Abstract

In large animal research, when frequent sampling of arterial blood is needed, the carotid artery transposition is the most used technique. The objective of this paper is to describe a new technique for carotid artery transposition in sheep and evaluate its effectiveness using the echo-Doppler ultrasound. The animals enrolled in this study had their carotid surgically elevated to the subcutaneous level, by suturing underneath muscles sternocephalic and brachiocephalic. None of the animals that underwent the procedure in this study had trans- or postoperative complications. Six months after the suture removal, all animals presented patent carotids by echo-Doppler ultrasound. This is an easy and safe procedure for carrying out experiments that require the collection of arterial blood.