. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2022 Dec 22.

Published in final edited form as: J Vis Exp. 2022 Jun 23;(184):10.3791/64089. doi: 10.3791/64089

Table 1: Troubleshooting for complications.

Commonly encountered complications with solutions.

Complication	Possible Causes	Solutions
Recipient death	Hypothermia	Heating pad
Recipient death	Dehydration	0.9% saline i.p. postoperatively
Poor graft perfusion	Carotid artery torsion	Re-anastomosis, or
Poor graft perfusion	Thrombus or air emboli	Open arterial anastomosis and flush with heparinized saline
Venous obstruction	Thrombus or air emboli	Re-anastomosis, or
Venous obstruction	Thrombus or air emboli	Open venous anastomosis and flush with heparinized saline
Postoperative bleeding	Bleeding jugular vein branches	Ligate jugular vein branches
		Cotton swab compression
	Loose cuffs	Tighten cuffs
Weak heartbeat	Cold cardiac graft	Drip warm saline on surface of heart
Graft twisting	Improper graft position	Ensure graft is properly oriented before skin closure
Erratic activity (eg. running in circles)	Cerebral ischemia	Ligate common carotid artery inferior to carotid bifurcation