Cardiomyoplasty: degeneration of the assisting skeletal muscle

This study determined effects of surgical dissection and chronic stimulation on degeneration of the latissimus dorsi muscle (LDM), the muscle used for contractile assistance in cardiomyoplasty. LDMs from 10 goats were allocated into four groups: N-LDM (normal), D-LDM (dissected muscle and collateral vessels ligated, muscle remained in original anatomic location), S-LDM (electrically stimulated for 65-75 days), and DS-LDM (dissected and stimulated). S-LDM had nearly a complete transformation to type I fibers throughout the lengths of the muscle. Both groups of dissected muscles (D-LDM and DS-LDM) showed lesser transformation and significant damage. Type I myosin heavy chain and citrate synthase activity were less in the distal compared with the proximal LDM. Morphology of the N-LDM and S-LDM was normal, whereas dramatic morphological abnormalities were observed in the D-LDM and DS-LDM, including lipid-containing ghostlike fibers, atrophied and hypertrophied fibers within the same fascicle. In conclusion, muscle degeneration associated with the cardiomyoplasty procedure was caused by surgical dissection, which was exacerbated by chronic stimulation but was not caused by stimulation alone.