Pouch-like construct for preventing heart distension

A method for the preparation of a pouch-like construct suitable for enclosing at least part of a heart of a mammal and comprising engineered tissue, said engineered tissue comprising cardiac myocytes, wherein the method comprises the steps of:

• a) providing a matrix having a recess in one surface of the matrix, wherein said recess has desired dimensions corresponding to desired dimensions of an exterior of the pouch-like construct for the pouch-like construct's exterior to be formed,
• b) providing a body having dimensions corresponding to desired dimensions of an interior of the pouch-like construct for the pouch-like construct's interior to be formed,
• c) disposing the body in the recess of the matrix such that the body is spaced from walls of the recess to form a space between the body and the walls of the recess corresponding to the desired dimensions of the construct,
• d) disposing a reconstitution mixture in the recess, wherein said reconstitution mixture comprises mammalian cells and suitable scaffold material which can be incubated to form an engineered tissue construct, said construct comprising cardiac myocytes,
• e) contacting the reconstitution mixture disposed within the recess with a culture medium suitable for culturing the cells in the reconstitution mixture,
• f) incubating the reconstitution mixture until a tissue construct forms within the matrix recess between the body and the matrix,
• g) removing the body with the tissue construct adherent thereto from the matrix recess, and
• h) separating the tissue construct from the body.