Renal preservation with hyperbaric oxygenation and hypothermia.

Abstract

SUMMARYCanine kidneys were removed and cooled by perfusion and then stored in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber at 0° C. After given periods of storage the kidney was retransplanted into the original animal. Opposite nephrectomy was performed either immediately or some weeks after the transplantation. Twenty–three kidneys were perfused with autologous arterial blood or Ringer's solution containing canine albumin and preserved for 24 hours under 2 or 3 ATA of oxygen. Nine kidneys were perfused with autologous blood and stored for 48 hours under hyperbaric oxygen between 2 and 8 ATA.The kidneys perfused with Ringer's solution containing albumin showed severe damage==and did not function. Kidneys preserved 24 hours after perfusion with autologous arterial blood had much less damage and some of these supported life after delayed opposite nephrectomy.Forty–eight hours of preservation was constantly unsuccessful when 2 to 3 atmospheres of hyperbaric oxygen were used. At 8 atmospheres histological damage was less severe but the kidneys did not support life.It would appear that if hyperbaric oxygen affords any benefit, in the context of our experiments, the effect must be small.