Method of isolation-perfusion of the liver in the pig.

A method was developed in the pig for isolation-perfusion of the liver using a pump-oxygenator that infused blood through the portal vein after vascular isolation and collected the hepatic venous effluent in a closed recirculating system. Portal and vena caval blood flows were diverted around the liver by an intracaval conduit or by an external shunt. Leakage from the perfusion circuit into the systemic circulation was measured using radioactive albumin tracer. Ten pigs were perfused for 30 or 60 minutes at 37 C or 41 C. Nine animals survived treatment with transient elevations of hepatic enzymes but with no clinical or pathologic signs of permanent hepatic damage.