Protocol for the technique of orthotopic liver transplantation in the rat.

Orthotopic rat liver transplantation (OLT) has been generally accepted as an excellent model for the analysis of pathological, physiological, and immunological aspects related to organ transplantation. However, many researchers require a long training period to achieve a high success rate using this major surgical procedure on small animals. We therefore developed a protocol for learning rat OLT. It is recommended, initially, that the heterotopic heart transplantation (HHT) model be used to master the cuff technique, since this technique is similar to that in OLT and leads to an understanding of another organ transplantation technique. For beginners who advance beyond the HHT step to OLT but cannot finish the anhepatic phase within 30 min, we recommend the use of portosystemic-shunted rats as recipients. These animals have had their spleens transposed subcutaneously more than 3 weeks before use. The use of these modifications and this training program makes it possible to master the techniques and to achieve a high success rate with a short training period.