Effect of repeated normothermic ischaemia on normal liver parenchyma. An experimental study in pigs

Hepatic ischaemia was induced in 8 mesenterico-cavally shunted pigs. The hepatic artery was occluded with biodegradable starch microspheres and the portal vein with a balloon catheter. The liver was kept ischaemic for 90 minutes at the beginning, and 90 minutes at the end, of a 24-hour period. At histopathologic examination 6 of the livers had multiple, small areas of necrosis. The total volume of these necroses accounted for no more than 10 to 15 per cent of each liver. No necrosis was evident in 2 livers. Thus normothermic ischaemia for 2 periods of 90 minutes each within a 24-hour period caused minimal damage to the liver. An alternative treatment in patients with liver tumours could therefore be simultaneous occlusion of the hepatic artery and the portal vein.