Orthotopic liver retransplantation in rats.
A surgical experience with a method of rate orthotopic liver retransplantation (OLRT), and a preliminary study of immunological responses after OLRT are reported. OLRT was performed on the same recipient after the fist orthotopic liver transplantation (1st-OLT) according to our original (Kamada's) cuff method. Replacement of the portal vein (PV) and infra-hepatic vena cava (IHVC) cuffs was not technically difficult. However, there were no survivors from the first 6 retransplanted rats, mainly due to complications from defective supra-hepatic vena cava (SHVC) anastomoses. Unlike the human intra-abdominal SHVC, the posterior wall of the intra-abdominal SHVC in rats is too short and fragile to perform an end-to-end anastomosis twice between donor and recipient SHVC. For a second group of seven retransplants, a modification of the SHVC anastomosis was made between donor and recipient SHVC in conjunction with the recipient's cuff diaphragm. This enabled reanastomosis to be secure, resulting in the improved 1-week survival after isogenic OLRT (85.7%). This OLRT model has been applied to the fully allogeneic combination for several immunological studies and led to novel findings. Thus, an experimental model of a rat orthotopic liver retransplant model has the potential to allow more valuable insights into the immunological study of chronic rejection, sensitization and chimerism following liver retransplantation.
Goto
S
S
Department of Surgery, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
Kamada
N
N
Delriviere
L
L
Kobayashi
E
E
Lord
R
R
Ware
F
F
Hara
Y
Y
Edwards-Smith
C
C
Shimizu
Y
Y
Vari
F
F
D000714:Anastomosis, Surgical / Q000379:methods; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D006085:Graft Survival; D008099:Liver / Q000098:blood supply; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000276:immunology / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008954:Models, Biological; D051381:Rats; D014682:Vena Cava, Inferior / Q000601:surgery