Improved survival rate after portacaval shunt in the rat using a modified microsurgical technique.
It has been observed that portacaval shunt in the rat is accompanied by a high postoperative mortality rate and shunt patency is seldom optimal on long-term follow-up. The immediate postoperative mortality is directly related to the intraoperative duration of occlusion of the portal vein. In order to reduce the intraoperative occlusion time of the portal vein we devised a technique to construct half of the shunt without portal vein occlusion and the other half with occlusion. The total occlusion time was only 4-6 min. There was negligible postoperative mortality and shunt patency was 100% after 6-8 months' follow-up. The changes in body weight, organ weight and metabolic parameters were reproducible.
Sharma
P
P
Department of Surgery, Lund University, Sweden.
D000818:Animals; D007431:Intraoperative Complications / Q000517:prevention & control; D011167:Portacaval Shunt, Surgical / Q000379:methods* / Q000401:mortality; D011169:Portal Vein; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D015996:Survival Rate