[Intestinal transplantation in the rat. Surgical technique]

Small bowel transplant (SBT) is a still open challenge in the field of transplantation. Immunological problems make it a technique not yet completely reliable for patients with irreversible chronic intestinal failure and, thus, accepted at the moment only for those who present potentially life threatening complications of total parenteral nutrition (TPN). Recently, new immunosuppression protocols have greatly improved the results, however research for new regimens to prevent rejection is still going on. The rat represents an invaluable model for studying small bowel transplant. The simplicity of the technique and the use of inbred species allow to study both rejection and graft versus host disease. The technique of rat small bowel transplant in the rat is presented and illustrated by a very didactic and explicable series of images.