Begin by dividing 18 male Sprague-Dawley rat pups seven days post-birth into three groups:sham, model, and massage. Apply pet eye ointment and eyedrops to the anesthetized pups to prevent dryness in their eyes. Disinfect the neck skin of the rats with iodophor, followed by 75%ethanol, then make a longitudinal incision approximately 0.5 centimeters long in the center of the juvenile rat's neck.
Carefully separate the right subcutaneous tissue, exposing the common carotid artery. In the model and massage groups, separate the common carotid artery and the vagus nerve. Coagulate the common carotid artery, employing an electric coagulation gun.
After confirming the absence of bleeding, suture the skin layer by layer and disinfect the surgical incision again. For the sham group, separate the common carotid artery without treatment. Suture the skin layer by layer, then disinfect the surgical incision.
Once the young rat crawls unrestricted, place it beside its mother. After disinfecting the operated model and massage group rats, house them on a 37 degree Celsius insulation pad and consistently monitor for any signs of bleeding from the wound or eye inflammation. Place the young rats in an open hypoxia chamber and observe for one hour until they regain consciousness.
After recovery from anesthesia, move the young rats into a closed anoxic device for a hypoxia period of three hours. Following the hypoxic treatment, return the awake young rat to its mother, then disinfect the surgical instruments and clean the hypoxic chamber with alcohol. Post-surgery, clean the young rat with iodophor to prevent infection.
Monitor the wound daily for signs of infection and employ sterile padding as needed. Once the model is successfully established, maintain the model group under normal conditions and apply the manual intervention to the massage group. Afterward, place each group of rats next to the mother rats on sterile and high temperature bedding and monitor them for one to two hours until the mother rats feed the offspring.
Perform daily observations to check for bleeding at the wound site and any signs of eye inflammation until the wound fully heals.
