Reconstruction of the intestinal lymphatic drainage after small bowel transplantation.

Background: The surgical procedure of small bowel transplantation normally results in complete disruption of the graft's lymphatic drainage. The present study was undertaken to determine the impact of lymphatic reconstruction (LR) on the outcome of intestinal grafting, using a microsurgical model that immediately restores lymphatic drainage.

Materials: Brown Norway (RT1n) intestinal grafts were orthotopically transplanted into Lewis (RT1(1)) rats either with LR (+LR) or without LR (-LR).