The long-term function and histology of segmental pancreatic autografts with pancreatic exocrine diversion to the esophagus in dogs

The endocrine function and histology of segmental pancreatic autografts with pancreatic exocrine diversion to the esophagus were assessed in nine dogs which survived longer than three years. An original twelve dogs underwent total pancreatectomy followed by a segmental pancreatic graft autotransplanted with pancreatic duct to esophagus anastomosis in the neck. All twelve dogs immediately had normal fasting glucose, nine of which sustained it for more than three years. One of the twelve dogs died on the tenth day from a thrombosis and two others died of causes unrelated to the graft; one of pneumonia and the other of an unknown cause, within the first year of transplantation. An intravenous glucose tolerance test performed three years after the transplantation revealed K values (1.90±0.37) which were not significantly different from those tested before the transplantation (1.92±0.42). The patency of the anastomosis between the pancreatic duct and the esophagus was clearly identified in the specimen of a dog sacrificed three years after the transplantation. The mucosa of the esophagus was macroscopically and microscopically almost normal. Histological studies of the autografts done three years after the transplantation showed almost normal pancreatic architecture in the islets and exocrine tissues, while histochemical analysis with immunoperoxidase stains confirmed the presence of insulin, glucagon and somatostatin. It is therefore possible that this new technique could be used for clinical segmental pancreatic transplantation.