Avoidance of malignant hyperthermia in a porcine model for experimental open heart surgery.

The porcine heart is an excellent physiological and anatomical experimental model because of its close similarity to the human heart. However, the pig is difficult to use in chronic experiments because of its propensity to develop malignant hyperthermia (MH). We have employed a technique which greatly reduces the incidence of MH in the chronic pig model, making its use feasible for a variety of experimental protocols.