Blood Vessel Anastomosis with Payr Cannulæ and without Anti-Coagulant,in Acute Experiments

Abstract

Kabat recently stated 1 that, “arterial anastomosis by means of Payr cannulæ, the method recommended by Heymans and his coworkers, 2 proved unsatisfactory in our laboratory.” Inasmuch as we have been using this method, without anticoagulant, entirely satisfactorily for the past 15 years for such varied cross-circulation experiments as perfusion of the isolated head or brain, isolated carotid sinus and perfusion of acutely transplanted spleen, kidney, leg, intestine, carotid sinus and suprarenal, we wish to describe in detail our procedure in blood vessel anastomosis so that this technique may be successfully applied by other workers.

The Payr cannulæ, made of thin brass tubes with 2 external grooves (Fig. 1, A), vary in size from 2 to 8 mm. in diameter, and from 8 to 16 mm. in length. The cannula, corresponding in diameter to the size of the smaller of the 2 blood vessels to be connected (be they arteries or veins) is selected and fixed in the special cannula holder (Fig. 1, D). The ligated vessel is pulled through the cannula and a “bull dog” clip is placed below the ligature. The vessel is then cleanly cut between the ligature and the clip and the severed edge is carefully grasped by 3 delicate ocular forceps and everted over the edge of the cannula (Fig. 2, A). As soon as the vessel has been pulled down far enough over the cannula one forceps is removed from the edge and is placed about the vessel and cannula to hold it for tying. It is then firmly tied in the second groove (Fig. 1, B, 4).