Establishment of secondary lymphedema model in rabbit hind limb
10.3760/cma.j.cn441206-20240303-00059
- VernacularTitle:兔后肢继发淋巴水肿模型的建立
- Author:
Youlei QIAN
1
;
Lan MU
Author Information
1. 首都医科大学附属北京世纪坛医院淋巴外科，北京 100038
- Keywords:
Secondary lymphedema;
Indocyanine green;
Lymphangiography;
Lymphedema model;
Rabbit
- From:
Chinese Journal of Microsurgery
2024;47(5):560-566
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective:To establish an animal model of secondary chronic lymphedema using rabbit hind limb and evaluate it with indocyanine green (ICG) lymphangiography.Methods:From March 2017 to March 2018, a secondary lymphedema model of rabbit hind limb was established in 7 rabbits in the Animal Experimental Centre of Peking University People's Hospital. The right hind limb of the rabbit was the control side, and the left hind limb was the experiment side which using simple surgical induction (dissection of inguinal lymph nodes, removal of lymph tissue around femoral vessels, and circumferential removal of subcutaneous tissue in 5.0 cm wide). Measurement of limb circumference and volume, ICG lymphangiography and histology were applied to evaluate the rabbit model 24 weeks after surgery. Continuous variables were presented as Mean±SD, the differences were compared using Student t test. Use the count data case (%) to represent it. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS software version 26.0. A two-sided P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results:Among 7 female New Zealand white rabbits, 1 died in modeling, 5 of the remaining 6 rabbits developed lymphedema (83.3%) (5/6) at 24 weeks after surgery. Impaired structure and function of lymphatic vessels was found in all the rabbits. Circumference and volume of the experimental hind limbs tended to be stable at 20-24 weeks after surgery, and the circumference at 2 cm above knee on the experiment side (17.58 cm±0.23 cm) was greater than that on the control side (16.65 cm±0.47 cm) at 24 weeks after surgery with statistical significance ( P<0.01). The circumference of knee on the experiment side (15.23 cm±0.47 cm) was greater than that on the control side (14.42 cm±0.51 cm) with statistical significance ( P=0.018). The circumferences at the plane of middle calf, ankle, middle foot, and volume on the experimental side were all greater than those on the control side, without statistical significance. At 24 weeks after surgery, ICG lymphangiography showed that all 6 affected hind limbs of the rabbits had morphological changes of lymphatic vessels, lymphatic fluid stasis and dermal backflow. Of the experiment limb, hyperplasia was found in the keratinised layer with thickened dermis, increased number and dilated subcutaneous lymphatic vessels, as well as a fibroplasia. However, no collecting lymphatic vessel was observed around the femoral arteries and veins. Conclusion:Simple surgical method can induce a secondary chronic lymphedema in rabbit hind limb, and it can be effectively evaluated by the ICG lymphangiography.
