Reperfusion injury in dog hearts with permanent occlusion of a coronary artery, probably due to reperfusion via collateral vessels

To clarify whether or not reperfusion injury occurs in the permanent occlusion of a coronary artery, we analyzed quantitatively contraction band necrosis as an indicator of early recanalization, coagulation necrosis, infarct size and measured regional blood flow in dog hearts with collateral circulation. Fifty mongrel dogs were divided into four groups: 15 dogs with a 24-hour occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery just distal to the first diagonal branch (permanent occlusion group): 15 dogs a with 3-hour occlusion followed by 24-hour recanalization (recanalization group); 10 dogs with a 2-hour occlusion without recanalization (transient occlusion group); 10 dogs with a 4-hour occlusion without recanalization (transient occlusion group).