Successful transplantation of a 20% partial liver graft in rats: a technical innovation.

Background: Graft-size disparity negatively impacts the postoperative outcome in the setting of adult-to-adult living donor liver transplantation.

Materials And Methods: As a model for partial liver transplantation in rats using a minimized graft volume, we orthotopically transplanted a 20% reduced-size liver with the two-cuff method. Blood chemistry, graft weight restoration, and labeling indices of 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine were estimated.

Results: We achieved 100% 2-week survival. Hepatic mass was restored rapidly with early normalization of biochemical parameters, although albumin synthesis capacity required more time to recover.

Conclusion: This technique has great potential for research as well as a therapeutic approach to regeneration and functional recovery of small liver grafts under various posttransplant circumstances.