Orthotopic abdominal multivisceral transplantation without venovenous bypass in pigs.

Background: Because venovenous bypass (VVB) can cause specific complications, a simplified orthotopic abdominal multivisceral transplantation (MVTX) technique without VVB in pigs has been evaluated in terms of morbidity and mortality.
Materials and Methods: Outbred large-white pigs weighing 25 to 40 kg of random sex underwent MVTX operation. After in situ cold perfusion through the aorta and superior mesenteric vein, the multivisceral allograft was procured from the donor and tailored at the back table. The multivisceral allograft, including liver, pancreas, stomach, duodenum, and proximal 2 m of jejunum, was en bloc transplanted into recipient after resection of entire foregut and midgut; VVB was not used. We analyzed the hemodynamic change, arterial blood gas data, and fluid requirements intraoperatively.
Results: Among 25 MVTXs, 19 (76%) animals survived after the operation. Without using an immunosuppressant, postoperative survival time was 2 to 146 hours. Ten recipient pigs died within 24 hours. Seven animals were lost between postoperative days 2 and 5. Two pigs survived for more than 5 days. The recipient pigs were mostly in a state of hypovolemic shock and metabolic acidosis during the reperfusion phase.
Conclusions: Despite a high morbidity and mortality, the simplified technique without VVB is feasible to successfully achieve MVTX in the pig.