Abstract
Abstract
The feasibility of creating a skin-lined hemithorax was tested in 6 pigs. All the pigs survived intrapleural skin grafting, and within 3 weeks they doubled their mean initial weight from 16·0 ± 1·6 kg to 32·4 ± 2s·6 kg. In 4 (out of 4) pigs the skin-lined cavity was opened successfully to the exterior; it had reproduced closely the contour of the hemithorax. It is concluded that it is feasible to construct a skin-lined hemithorax with a mean volume of 276·0 ± 19·6 ml in pigs, whose mean body weight was 37·5 ± 2·5 kg. This confirms earlier work in the rat.