Abdominal multivisceral transplantation in pigs

We investigated the technical aspects of porcine abdominal multivisceral transplantation, in terms of pathophysiological features in animals given no immunosuppresant. The splanchnic organs of the donor animal were flushed in situ with University of Wisconsin solution via the abdominal aorta, using a pump. After a relatively short period of cold storage in saline, multivisceral grafts, including the liver, pancreas, and gastrointestinal tract, were transplanted orthotopically. Of the 18 recipient pigs that underwent the operation, 9 (50%) died within 24 h, mainly because of respiratory insufficiency (n = 5) and circulatory shock (n = 3). Three animals (17%) were lost to acute renal failure between the second and fifth postoperative days. Six pigs (33%) survived for more than 1 week, and the causes of death in these animals were bowel obstruction (n = 1), pneumonia (n = 2), rejection of the intestinal graft (n = 2), and deterioration (n = 1). Although the results of this study were not satisfactory, abdominal multivisceral transplantation using pigs is practical and may lead to the possible resolution of various problems, in regard to the immunologic aspects and the interrelationship of transplanted complex organs.