Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 7, 2025
Creation of Two Saccular Elastase-Digested Aneurysms with Different Hemodynamics in One Rabbit
Published on: April 15, 2021
A modified method of elastase-induced saccular aneurysm creation in rabbits: Schematic representation of the method
Dong-Sung Won1,2, Mi Hyeon Kim1,2, Ki Baek Lee3
1Biomedical Engineering Research Center, Asan Institute for Life Sciences, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Background:
The purpose of our study was to investigate the safety and effectiveness of a modified technique using a short guiding catheter for instillation of elastase in comparison with the previously described method of creating elastase-induced aneurysm in rabbits.
Methods:
Following right common carotid artery (RCCA) access using an arterial sheath and inflating the Fogarty balloon in the subclavian artery, a short guiding catheter was used for the instillation of the elastase in the experimental group (n = 5) while it was performed with a microcatheter in the control group (n = 5). The procedure duration was recorded from the RCCA puncture to the sheath removal. The histological changes were characterized using H&E and Masson's trichrome (MT) staining.
Results:
The procedure time was 23 ± 2 min in the experimental group and 29 ± 2 min in the control group. All the rabbits (100%) in the experimental group survived without neurologic deficits, but two rabbits (40%) survived in the control group. All aneurysms were created in the saccular shape (100%) with a neck size of 2.3 ± 0.29 mm, a width of 2.75 ± 0.36 mm, and height of 6.37 ± 0.46 mm, and a dome to neck ratio of 1.21 ± 0.23. The aneurysm walls were partly thickened due to the degradation of the media tunica and adventitia proliferation with loss of the internal elastic lamina.
Conclusion:
By using a short guiding catheter, we could instill the elastase in a more effective and safe manner in the creation of the elastase-induced aneurysm model in rabbits.
