title: Diet composition and surgical technique influence the postoperative recovery of portacaval shunted rats.
abstract: In a series of experiments, rats were subjected to end-to-side portacaval shunts using either suture or nonsuture surgical procedures. Rats were maintained on cereal-based or purified diets in pellet form. All rats recovered preoperative body weights within the experimental periods; however, recovery of preoperative body weight was influenced by surgical technique and diet composition. Portacaval shunted rats fed a cereal-based diet required a longer period of time (14 days) to reattain preoperative body weights when compared to portacaval shunted rats fed a purified diet (7 days). Once preoperative body weight was recovered, growth rates of portacaval shunted rats were parallel to those of sham-operated controls. Rats with a suture-portacaval shunt appeared most sensitive to the feeding of a cereal-based diet. All portacaval shunted rats and sham controls fed a purified diet regained preoperative body weights within 7 days after surgery. Sham controls fed either a cereal-based or purified diet recovered preoperative body weights within an average of 4 days. Suture-portacaval shunted rats consuming a pellet form cereal-based diet showed a low feed efficiency which could be reversed by feeding a pellet form purified diet. Rats subjected to a nonsuture glue-portacaval shunt and fed a cereal-based diet showed 50% lower feed efficiencies than did glue-portacaval shunted rats fed a purified diet. Portacaval shunted rats decreased their consumption of cereal-based diets but not of purified diets postoperatively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison 53706.
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Jerkins
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Steele
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight; D004032:Diet; D004435:Eating; D002523:Edible Grain; D008099:Liver / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size; D011167:Portacaval Shunt, Surgical / Q000379:methods; D011184:Postoperative Period; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013537:Sutures; D013997:Time Factors; D014014:Tissue Adhesives
chemical_list: D014014:Tissue Adhesives