AN EXPERIMENTAL PORCINE MODEL OF PARTIAL ISCHEMIA OF THE DISTAL COLON

Objective: Ischaemia of the colon is a major challenge in aortoiliac s urgery. The aim was to establish an animal model of partial distal col onic ischaemia to study interventional strategies. Design: Randomised experiment. Setting: University Hospital. Department of Experimental R esearch. Material: 19 pigs. Interventions: 11 Pigs were subjected to i schaemia consisting of total occlusion of the inferior mesenteric arte ry and partial occlusion of the superior mesenteric artery. Eight anim als were sham controls. Dextran was given. Main outcome measures: Haem odynamic measurements, intramucosal pH-measurements (pHi) and histolog ical grading. Results: Both ischaemic animals and controls remained ha emodynamically stable. It was possible to maintain stable ischaemia in the distal colon in the pHi-range of 6.9-7.1. There was histological mucosal damage of the distal colon in ischaemic animals but not in con trols. Conclusions: The model could be of value when studying interven tional strategies to reduce or reverse ischaemia.