Rat Model of Orthotopic Gastric Transplantation

Introduction: We tried to find a better surgical procedure of reconstruction after total gastrectomy. Seventy rats were operated to establish a model of orthotopic gastric transplantations which may also be important for abdominal multivisceral transplantation.

Objective: To establish a rat model of orthotopic gastric transplantation.

Methods: In the donor operation; after the spleen was resected and the proper hepatic artery ligated, the stomach was infused with cold (0 degrees C to 4 degrees C) sodium lactate Ringer's solution via the aorta. The stomach was resected with its peripheral blood vessels-the celiac trunk, the left gastric artery, the splenic artery, the common hepatic artery, the gastroepiploic artery, and the portal vein. In the recipient operation; after the stomach and the spleen were resected, the donor stomach was implanted. An end-to-side anastomosis was performed for the portal veins. After the end-to-end anastomosis between the donor celiac trunk and the recipient left gastric artery, the blood flow was opened. Then the anastomoses of the duodenum, and donor cardia to the recipient esophagus were performed in end-to-end style.

Results: Thirty five operations were performed, in which the success rate in the last 20 cases was 80% (16/20). The average operative time was 2.35 hours. The longest survival time was over 3 months.

Conclusion: A rat model of orthotopic gastric transplantation was successfully established and provides a method to study abdominal multivisceral transplantation. It also provides a new way for reconstruction after the total gastrectomy.