[Heterotopic autotransplantation of the spleen in piglets]

An experimental study was developed to assess the method of heterotopic autotransplantation of the spleen into the greater omentum in 11 piglets. Tissue fibrin glue was employed to fix 2-3 mm slices of the spleen, and the lower part of the omentum was glued to the grafts. While one piglet died within 3 days since surgery, the other experimental animals survived 6 months without complications and were sacrificed. A histologically viable splenic tissue in the original quantity, or a quantity increased by 1/4, was found in 80% of the piglets. Compared with the original grafts, the bulk of the regenerate shrank by 2/3 in 20% of the animals; splenic tissue was altered by necroses and scarring. The technique of glueing splenic slices into the omentum using fibrin coagulum has a future in clinical surgery.