AJP - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, Vol 269, Issue 4 943-R947, Copyright © 1995 by American Physiological Society
Chronic lung lymph fistula that only drains the left lung
Y. Kikuchi, H. Nakazawa and D. L. Traber
Department of Anesthesiology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston 77555-0833, USA.
We developed a chronic lung fistula that drains only the left lung,
allowing for evaluation of injury in a single lung. To remove lymph
drainage from the right lung into the caudal mediastinal lymph node, the
right lower pulmonary ligament was severed. Pneumatic occluders were placed
on the left pulmonary arteries and veins. To ensure that lymph drained from
only the left lung, we increased the right pulmonary arterial pressure
(RPAP) from 21.2 +/- 0.5 to 36.5 +/- 0.6 mmHg. The left pulmonary arterial
pressure (LPAP) was kept at wedge pressure level for 1 h by inflating
pneumatic occluders. Lymph flow from the left lung fistula was stable
during this occlusion. Six hours after recovery was increased the LPAP from
a baseline level of 19.1 +/- 1.0 to 36.4 +/- 0.9 mmHg and the RPAP from
21.2 +/- 0.5 to 38.0 +/- 0.8 mmHg for 2 h by inflating the pneumatic
occluders on the left and right pulmonary veins. Lymph flow increased from
5.3 +/- 1.0 to 28.0 +/- 2.9 ml/h. Reflection coefficient was calculated at
0.80 +/- 0.02.
