PHENOMENON OF DEMIKHOV. At N.V. Sklifosovsky Institute (1960–1986). Grishka the dog lived with a second, additional heart and transplanted lung without immunosuppression for 142 days (1962)

Abstract

On June 20, 1962, at the N.V. Sklifosovsky Research Institute for Emergency Medicine in Moscow, V.P. Demikhov, a biologist, physiologist, and experimental surgeon transplanted a second, additional heart together with the lung through the left thoracotomy access in the fourth intercostal space into the place of the removed two upper lobes of the left lung into the chest to the dog named Grishka. The second heart was implanted in such a way that arterial blood circulated in it and in the transplanted lung. The donor and recipient were selected according to the blood group match. The immediate postoperative period was uneventful. On day 4, the dog became active. On day 12, the sutures were removed from the skin wound. On day 15, antibiotics (penicillin and streptomycin) were discontinued. During the daily examination, general condition and physical activity were noted, rectal temperature, respiratory rate and contractions of one's own and transplanted heart were measured; electrocardiograms were taken from both hearts. On day 13, Grishka gnawed through the electrode, which helped taking the electrocardiograms from the transplanted heart during the first 2 weeks. As a result, in place of the electrode remaining in the chest, the animal developed a fistula with purulent discharge. For this reason, as well as for coughing and wheezing in the lungs on the left, Grishka was periodically administered antibiotics. After the operation and before the withdrawal from the experiment, the dog was injected with heparin. No other pharmaceuticals were given. The dog led an active lifestyle, ate well, and displayed interest in female dogs. The second heart ceased beating 142 days after the operation, on November 8, 1962. Resuscitation measures were unsuccessful. At autopsy, in the right atrial auricle of the transplanted heart, diffuse transmural hemorrhage and a thrombus from the endocardium were revealed, which blocked the blood flow to the heart. The lower lobe of Grishka's lung was in a state of hepatization. Signs of edema and inflammation were observed in the transplanted lung. There were no blood clots at the sites of vascular anastomoses. There were no visual signs of rejection. The results of histological studies are not known. This article for the first time introduced into scientific circulation an operation protocol, a diary of postoperative management and an autopsy protocol for an animal that had lived with a second, additional heart and a transplanted lung without immunosuppression for 142 days, which has been a unique observation in world transplantology. Despite the long-term survival of the animal, nursing the recipient dog in the postoperative period did not meet the complexity of the operation performed, which allows us to conclude that it was impossible at that time to implement the results obtained in the experiment into clinical heart transplantation in humans.