Techniques of intestinal transplantation in rat.

Two surgical models of intestinal transplantation in the rat are described. One is the implantation of fetal and newborn intestine as free grafts into the omentum of adult recipients, the other the adult intestine transplantation as an accessory graft using vascular anastomoses. A hundred and sixteen small-bowel transplantations were done; 36 of which were fetal intestine (group I), 40 of newborn intestine (group II), and 40 of adult intestine (group III). In the fetal and newborn intestinal transplantation, we emphasize the practices that allowed us to avoid ischemic and traumatic injury to the graft. In the adult intestine transplantation with vascular anastomoses, we heighten the modifications in the surgical technique that made the operation easier and the strategies used to prevent hypothermia and hypovolemic shock. Once experienced with the two chosen surgical techniques, transplantation using an avascular segment became much easier and quicker than transplantation with vascular anastomoses.