Variation in electrosurgical vessel seal quality along the length of a porcine carotid artery

Porcine common carotid arteries, from pigs aged 4 - 6 months, were obtained from a local abattoir, with all testing conducted within 10h of slaughter. Vessels were skeletonised and sectiones using a scalpel; a 2mm sample was fixed in 10% buffered formalin for histological analysis and a 20mm section taken for sealing with an electrosurgical vessel sealing device. The position from the bifurcatuion was measured, along with the outer vessel diameter and wall thickness. All measurements were taken using digital Vernier callipers. Following the electrosurgical seal, the artery was connected to saline infusion apparatus to perform an inflation test to assess seal quality. The burst pressure was defined as a sudden and rapid decrease in seal pressure, with this pressure recorded for each seal. All data is presented in an .xlsx file with headings describing the data found within each column. Each sample was given a sample number consisting of 1 number and 1 letter, the number refers to the artery tested, and the letter refers to the position, for example a means 12mm from the bifurcation. In addition 35 histology images taken on a Leica DMRB microscope using a Colour Moticam 2000 digital camera are also included, presented in JPeg format. These images were analysed using open source software ImageJ, to quantify the vessel morphology presented within the .xlsx file. 

Research results based upon these data are published at

http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0954411915621092