Abstracts Health Sciences

The physiological requirements for successful auxiliary liver transplantation as temporary hepatic support

by Marvin J. Wexler

Regeneration, function, and maintenance of integrity of the liver were studied in five groups of hemihepatectomized dogs with varying hemodynamic inflow to the residual half liver, and one group with intact livers but differentially ligated inflow to each half. Atrophy is distinguished from lack of regeneration, and is shown to be solely dependent upon adequacy of total volume of liver blood flow, and not any trophic substance or specific type of flow. This concept is extended to the problems of revascularization and atrophy of auxiliary liver transplants. A model is described and evaluated utilizing renal vein blood as "portal" inflow to the transplant, leaving intact portal blood supply to the damaged host liver. Excellent survival and function results, suggesting possible clinical application of this model as a temporary means of hepatic support with the expectation of potential recovery and regeneration of the host liver undeprived of its portal inflow.