Microsurgical skills and perioperative management of orthotopic small bowel transplantation in mice

Objective To establish a stable murine models of orthotopic small bowel transplantation. Methods Syngeneic orthotopic small bowel transplantation was performed between C57BL/6 mice. Donor intestinal graft was harvested along with vascular pedicles (including graft's portal vein and the superior mesenteric artery with a Carrel patch of aorta) by microsurgery. The donor intestine was revascularized by end-to-side arterial and venous anastomoses. The native intestine was cut off. The enteric continuity was reestablished with end-to-end intestinal anastomoses. Microsurgical skills and perioperative management were modified through study. Results Orthotopic small bowel transplantation in mice was performed in 70 cases, the success rate of transplantation reached up to 73.5% as technology enters its maturity, although it was only 38.1% in the start-up stage. In maturing stage, the operation time of donor was (46.3±3.8) min, the cold ischemic time of graft was (35.2±4.2) min, the operation time of recipient was (98.0±5.5) min, the vascular anastomotic time was (30.6±3.2) min and the intestinal anastomotic time was (28.6±2.8) min. Conclusion The reliable model of orthotopic small bowel transplantation in mice has been established by modified microsurgical skills and perioperative, which could lay a foundation for further research. Key words: Small bowel transplantation; Orthotopic; Mice; Microsurgical skills; Perioperative management