Transauricular Arterial or Venous Access for Cardiovascular Experimental Protocols in Animals

PURPOSE: To describe a safe percutaneous method of transauricular endovascular access in small and large animals that uses basic catheter-based interventional skills and renders surgery and general anesthesia with intubation unnecessary. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty New Zealand White rabbits and five domestic juvenile swine were used in the experiments. Animals were restrained in the supine position after induction of dissociative anesthesia. Transau-ricular endovascular access was accomplished by percutaneous catheterization of the auricular artery or vein, roadmap imaging, introduction of a 0.018-inch hydrophilic guide wire, and over-the-wire vascular sheath insertion after serial tract dilations. RESULTS: Technical success rates were 90 % and 100 % for intraarterial and endovenous access in the rabbit, respectively, and 100 % for both routes in the pig. The largest sheaths inserted were 5 F in the rabbits ’ aortae, 7 F in the rabbits ’ venae cavae, 6 F in the pigs ’ aortae, and 8 F in the pigs ’ venae cavae. Animal recovery was uneventful, and 48-hour necropsy detected only minor perivascular hematoma in cases of transauricular intraarterial access. Peripheral, intracoronary, intrapulmonary, and intracerebral selective vascular access was safe and feasible. A method of reserving the transauricular endovascular access for future interventions or follow-up by placement of indwelling hydrophilic catheters was also established