Preservation of the Latissimus Dorsi Muscle During Cardiomyoplasty Surgery

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Abstract
Background: Cardiomyoplasty surgery has been shown to be associated with damage and degeneration of the assisting skeletal muscle. The purpose of this study was to use ischemic (short‐term) and thermal (long‐term) preconditioning to protect the muscle during surgery and the subsequent ischemia. Methods: Three 10‐minute cycles of ischemia‐reperfusion were accomplished noninvasively on goat latissimus dorsi muscle (LDM) immediately prior to surgery. In another experiment, LDM was noninvasively heat shocked for 20 minutes at 42°C 24 hours prior to surgery. LDM damage was evaluated 5 days postsurgery using enzyme activities (β‐glucuronidase, β‐GLN; citrate synthase), hydroxyproline, morphology, and blood flow. Results: The lysosomal enzyme, β‐GLN, was significantly increased (43%, p < 0.05) by surgical dissection and remained high in the ischemic preconditioned LDM (58%, p < 0.05) and in the heat shocked LDM (57%, p < 0.05). Conclusion: These findings show that these two protective protocols do not reduce the muscle damage that occurs during surgical preparation of the LDM for cardiomyoplasty.