Transplantation of carotid arteries

The carotid arteries are the major blood vessels in the neck that supply oxygen-rich blood to
the brain, neck and face. The carotid arteries are made of three layers of tissue: Intima, the smooth
innermost layer, media, the muscular middle layer and adventitia, the outer layer (WebMD, 2014). It
exists the carotid artery disease in which a waxy substance called plaque builds up inside it, over
time the plaque hardens and narrows the arteries. This may limit the flow of oxygen-rich blood to
the organs (University of California San Francisco, 2015).
For a transplant of carotid artery there must have been consider some aspects or properties
for picking the right material, such as if its compatible with the body and if the body accepts it, that it
doesnt produce corruption, it has to have to roughness on each ending so it can be attach and it
have to be able to have a certain amount of flexibility. For these reasons the best option is a
procedure well known as xenotransplantation which consist on the transplantation of organs and
tissues from animals into humans. The difficulty in the use of animal tissue is the prevention of
acute tissue rejection, the transplanted material is seen as foreign and the immune response to the
animal tissue severe, resulting in devastating necrosis1 of the tissue for transplant (Galbraith &
Onions, 1999). Over time there have been a lot of research for finding the solution not only for
transplantation for carotid arteries but also for aortic and coronary arteries which suffer the same
kind of disease (University of Louisville, 2013).
References

Galbraith, D., & Onions, D. (1999). The microbial risks of Xenotransplantation. En A. Bernard, B.
Griffiths, W. No, & F. Wurum, Animal Cell Technology: Products from cells, cells as
products (pgs. 495-499). Lugano: Kuwer Academic Publishers.
University of California San Francisco. (2015). Department of Surgery. Obtenido de Carotid Artery
Disease: http://www.surgery.ucsf.edu/conditions--procedures/carotid-artery-disease.aspx
University of Louisville. (2013). Counterpulsation with symphony prenets retrograde carotid, aortic,
and coronary floes observed with intra-aortic balloon pump support. En A. Acton, Issues in
Tissue Engineering and Transplant and Transfusion Medicine. Atlanta: ScholarlyEditions.
WebMD. (15 de November de 2014). Heart Health Center. Obtenido de Carotid Artery:
http://www.webmd.com/heart/picture-of-the-carotid-artery

1 The death of living cells or tissues.