Auxiliary Liver Transplantation: Effect of Host Portacaval Shunt

THIS REPORT is concerned with a further evaluation of auxiliary canine homotransplantation of the liver and with the attempted application of such a procedure for the treatment of three patients. Methods There were 33 mongrel dogs weighing 17.7 to 22.2 kg (average, 17.5 kg) (39 to 49 lb [average, 38.5 lb]) used as recipients. The experiment was completed in 11 animals. The other 22 died early of anesthetic, technical, and septic complications and are excluded from further discussion. In the 11 test dogs the donors (weight 9.5 to 20 kg [21 to 44 lb]) were smaller than their recipients, the average weight being 13.6 kg (30 lb). The general surgical techniques and the studies obtained postoperatively were similar to those described in previous publications.¹,²The average ischemia time for the cooled homografts was 44 minutes. Postoperatively, 2 to 8 mg/kg azathioprine were administered daily. All animals received a completely