The Vineberg Procedure in the Era of Transmyocardial Revascularization

From “Spongy” and “Cold” Hearts to Cellular Cardiomyoplasty: Tales of Canadian Contribution to Global Cardiac Surgery

“…The Vineberg operation was based on the rationale that a bleeding artery implanted in the myocardium could remain patent because of the runoff provided by the sponge-like network of myocardial sinusoids. Readers who are interested in the detailed history and techniques of the Vineberg operation are referred to an article by Shrager [8] and to a chapter by Tsang et al [9]. This operation was also dubbed the ''snake heart operation'' because the reptilian myocardium receives blood perfusion directly from the ventricular cavity via the communicating sinusoidal networks.…”