Ann Thorac Surg 1996;62:82
© 1996 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
Discussion
Discussion
See also page 78.
DR W. STEVES RING (Dallas, TX): This is a very interesting study, but I have some concerns about the model itself. You say you have used this before, but it seems that you are measuring only load-dependent variables like cardiac output and first derivative of left ventricular pressure. These variables will be dependent on the amount of blood flow through the donor left lung, which is going to be dependent on the anastomosis of the pulmonary artery to the aorta and the pulmonary vascular resistance. It seems to me that the cardiac function of the donor heart is not controlled for preload, which is determined by the flow through the donor left lung.
DR VOTAPKA: Well, it certainly is true that the absolute stroke volume and the cardiac output are dependent on the quality and the size of the pulmonary artery anastomosis, and we accept that. We believe, however, that the blinded randomization would control for that variable. That is to say, because there is no systematic difference in anastomosis size between the two groups, there is no reason to suspect that this variable could account for the observed differences between the two groups.
Related Article
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Effect of Triiodothyronine on Graft Function in a Model of Heart Transplantation
- Timothy V. Votapka, David A. Canvasser, D. Glenn Pennington, Masaaki Koga, and Marc T. Swartz
Ann. Thorac. Surg. 1996 62: 78-82.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
