title: Rat small intestinal transplantation: a comparison of the cuff and hand-suture methods.
abstract: The rat model is ideal for investigating various reactions to small intestinal transplantation (SIT). The conventional surgical model (hand-suture method), however, requires microsurgical techniques and remains difficult for beginners to perform at a high success rate. We have employed the SIT model using the cuff method, by which the vessels are anastomosed without sutures. All of the fellows who used the hand-suture models needed over 8 +/- 5.8 months until they achieved a 70% success rate. In contrast, the fellows employing the cuff method mastered SIT models after 6 weeks' practice. The cuff technique is a simplified and quickly mastered alternative to the hand-suture method that may be desirable for researchers who wish to apply the method to SIT experiments and whose primary purpose is not microsurgery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery I, Okayama University Medical School, Japan.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nakao
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mitsuoka
authors.forename: S D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D007421:Intestine, Small / Q000637:transplantation*; D051381:Rats; D011912:Rats, Inbred ACI; D011917:Rats, Inbred Lew; D013536:Suture Techniques / Q000592:standards*