Auxiliary liver transplantation with portal arterialization in the rat: Description of a new model

In recent years, portal arterialization has been used in liver transplantation to increase the portal flow, as a solution for singular technical problems. We have developed a new auxiliary liver transplantation model in the rat with portal arterialization, so the native hepatic hilium remains untouched, consisting on a graft with a previous 70% hepatectomy. It is sited on the right renal bed, joining the infrahepatic inferior vena cava (IVC) of the graft with the recipient IVC. With an abdominal aortic graft, we connect the recipient aorta with the portal vein from the auxiliary liver. All the animals survived at the seventh day. No thrombosis was seen in any graft and an important rejection was observed in all the fields. We have developed a new experimental model of an auxiliary liver with portal arterialization, avoiding the utilisation of the native hepatic hilium, necessary for the possible recovering of the proper liver in the case of a reversible fulminant hepatitis. (C) 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.