Jugular Vein Graft Harvest From a Rabbit Model: A Surgical Procedure to Excise a Segment of Rabbit Jugular Vein for Ex Vivo Studies

All procedures involving animal models have been reviewed by the local institutional animal care committee and the JoVE veterinary review board.

1. Harvest of the jugular vein

NOTE: Local anesthetics (such as lidocaine) should be used before making the skin incision.

1. Before skin incision, administer prophylactic enrofloxacin (5 mg/kg) subcutaneously. For analgesia, administer 0.05 mg/kg of buprenorphine subcutaneously twice a day for 3 days.
   NOTE: To avoid a drop in body temperature, a surgical scrub of the incision site can be used instead of spraying the animal's body with 70% ethanol.
2. Incise 50–60 mm of the cervical region with surgical scalpel longitudinally. Bluntly dissect the subcutaneous tissues and fascia to expose a 20–30 mm segment of the jugular vein. Ligate all the branches of the exposed vein with 4-0 silk sutures.
3. Place a 2-0 silk suture around the internal and external jugular veins to perform ligation immediately after incising the jugular vein in the next step.
4. Incise the venous wall (approximately 1 mm) of the distal side of the vein. Insert a 2-French balloon catheter from the cut toward the proximal side of the vein. Ligate the 2-0 silk suture at the distal sites of the jugular veins.
5. Inflate the balloon with 0.2 mL of air. Denude the intima of the vein using three passages of the catheter for endothelial exfoliation.
   NOTE: This procedure is considered equivalent to the distension of a saphenous vein graft in human revascularization surgeries, which causes endothelial exfoliation.
6. Ligate the proximal end of the vein. Cut the vein to harvest.
   NOTE: Carefully distinguish the distal and proximal end of the harvested vein, because the anastomosis to the artery should be performed in an inverted manner (i.e., the distal end of the vein should be anastomosed to the proximal end of the artery). For example, insertion of an intravenous catheter from a certain side would work as a marker.