Histological change in permanently clipped or ligated cerebral arterial wall. Part I. An experimental study in dogs.

In this paper, we discuss the results of a study by light microscope of the effect of permanent clipping or ligation on the intracranial arteries of 38 operation dogs and 7 control dogs. The findings obtained are: 1. In the cerebral arterial circle, necrosis could easily result from ordinary clipping or ligation because of scarce vasa vasorum. 2. As for the incidence of necrosis, the greatest was found in the case of the Yaşargil clip after electric coagulation, next came the Yaşargil clip alone, next ligation, and last the silver clip. The degree of necrosis correlated with the duration of clipping in the cases treated with a spring type clip, and was influenced more by the closing strength at the time of application in the cases with non-spring type clips or ligation. 3. In some of the cases ligated for long duration, recanalization was caused by the passage of the ligature through the vessel wall, suggesting that ligation is not a certain procedure if it is applied alone. 4. The granulation tissue round the clip and ligature began to grow after one month. As for its degree, the most marked granulation was that caused by the silver clip, next the ligature, than the Yaşargil clip after electric coagulation, and finally the Yaşargil clip used normally; in all of them the correlation with the passage of time was noted. 5. In the group of duration three months or more, concentric intimal proliferation was noted peripheral to the clip, and intimal proliferation was also noted exclusively localized to the side of a branch on the central or truncal side of a clip. This correlated in degree with the passage of time. 6. Clipping and ligation are liable to cause necrosis and fragmentation, but on the other hand it was considered that rupture of the vessel wall did not result because of the reinforcing and reparative effect of the reactive granulation tissue and the intimal proliferation which developed in such a manner as to strengthen the area involved.