Chronic Histologic Changes after Vascular Clamping Are Not Associated with Altered Vascular Mechanics

Abstract

The mechanical properties of arteries, along with the histologic and scanning electron microscopy characteristics of the nonatherosclerotic canine arteries, were investigated six months after vascular clamping. Different vessel clamps were applied to 73 sites on the carotid and femoral arteries in five anesthetized dogs. Each clamp was applied for 30 minutes with (a) sufficient force to just occlude blood flow or (b) as tightly as the clamp could be placed. After six months the vessels were excised, filled with barium sulfate suspension, and pressurized in 25 mmHg steps up to 150 mmHg. High resolution contact radiographs were taken at each pressure. These were magnified 35x and measured. Scanning electron microscopy and conventional histology disclosed that the clamped sites exhibited serrated clamp "tracks" in the intima, intimal hyperplasia, and, in a few cases, fractured elastic lamellae. These histologic changes were seen more frequently in the femoral artery than in the carotid artery (p less than .01). The mechanical properties, as determined from radiographic measurements, demonstrated that, for all types of clamps, the luminal diameter, pressure-diameter relationship, and compliance of the clamped vessels were not significantly different from nonclamped control regions (ANOVA). These studies demonstrate that careful application of clamps to nonatherosclerotic arteries produces persistent morphologic changes, but these are not associated with altered mechanical properties of the vessel wall.