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Updated: Mar 12, 2026

Development of a Neonatal Piglet Acute Lung Injury Model Recreating the Early Environment of Preterm Infant Lungs
Published on: October 31, 2025
Development of a Model of Pediatric Lung Failure Pathophysiology
John M Trahanas1, Fares Alghanem, Catalina Ceballos-Muriel
1From the *Extracorporeal Life Support Laboratory, Department of Surgery, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan; †Department of Surgery, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York; ‡Department of Surgery, Universidad el Bosque - Escuela Colombiana de Medicina, Bogota, Colombia; §Department of Cardiac Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan; ¶Department of Surgery, Section of Transplant Surgery, University of Michigan Health Systems, Ann Arbor, Michigan; and ‖Department of Surgery, Section of Pediatric Surgery, University of Michigan Health Systems, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Abstract:
A pediatric artificial lung (PAL) is under development as a bridge to transplantation or lung remodeling for children with end-stage lung failure (ESLF). To evaluate the efficiency of a PAL, a disease model mimicking the physiologic derangements of pediatric ESLF is needed. Our previous right pulmonary artery (rPA) ligation model (rPA-LM) achieved that goal, but caused immediate mortality in nearly half of the animals. In this study, we evaluated a new technique of gradual postoperative right pulmonary artery occlusion using a Rummel tourniquet (rPA-RT) in seven (25-40 kg) sheep. This technique created a stable model of ESLF pathophysiology, characterized by high alveolar dead space (58.0% ± 3.8%), pulmonary hypertension (38.4 ± 2.2 mm Hg), tachypnea (79 ± 20 breaths per minute), and intermittent supplemental oxygen requirement. This improvement to our technique provides the necessary physiologic derangements for testing a PAL, whereas avoiding the problem of high immediate perioperative mortality.
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