Hepatic Revascularization: An Experimental Method

Recent work from our laboratory has demonstrated that a large volume of blood can be delivered to the kidney through a systemic artery which had been implanted into a tunnel in the renal cortex. 1,2 The purpose of this paper is to elaborate on the observation 3,4 that the liver can also accept, without hepatic injury, an extrahepatic vascular source placed directly within the liver parenchyma. Methods and Materials Healthy adult dogs of both sexes, weighing from 14 to 23 kg (31 to 51 lb) were anesthetized intravenously with pentobarbital prior to laparotomy. The splenic artery and vein were identified and isolated with division of its side branches, up to the level of the hilum of the spleen, at which point a splenectomy was performed. The isolated vessels were found to average between 8 to 10 cm in length which made implantation possible into any lobe of the liver. Group