Role of Arterial Blood Supply in Orthotopic Whole and Partial Liver Transplantaion in the Rat

Aims: The hepatic artery (HA) thrombosis is a serious com-plication after liver transplantation (LT). In the present study, role of blood supply from HA to the grafted liver was experimentally investigated. Methods: Rats were grouped into 4: Group I-whole LT without HA reconstruction, Group II-partial (30%) LT without HA re-construction, Group III- whole LT with HA reconstruction, and Group IV- partial (30%) LT with HA reconstruction. Results: In Group III, posttransplant elevation of serum lev-els of GOT and total bilirubin was minimal. Those levels in Groups I and II were significantly higher, compared to those in Groups III and IV. Dilatation of the bile duct and bile stasis were evident in 60 % and 71 % of rats in Group I and II, respec-tively. In Group II, histological examination demonstrated that proliferation of bile duct around the portal triad wa