Objective To explore improvement of orthotopic liver transplantation model in rhesus monkey. Methods Healthy rhesus monkeys were chosen to perform orthotopic liver transplantation for 10 cases. The model was established by drawing on a variety of animal model methods, and the portal vein cuff method was used to establish stable model of orthotopic liver transplantation in rhesus monkeys. Results Ten orthotopic liver transplantation models in rhesus were performed, and the achievement ratio of operation was 10/10. The time of donor hepatectomy and donor preparation was (20±5) min and (30±7) min, respectively. The operation time of recipient and anhepatic phase were (180±35) min and (17±4) min, respectively. After 24 h of operation 9 cases survived, one case died of intra-abdominal hemorrhage after 9 h of operation. After 72 h of operation 8 cases survived, and one case died of upper gastrointestinal bleeding after 38 h of operation. After one week of operation 5 cases survived, and 3 cases died of rejection after 9, 11, and 11 d of operation, respectively. The longest survival time was 32 d, but all of them also died of rejection. No portal vein thrombosis and biliary complications were found in all recipients.Conclusion The improved rhesus monkey model of orthotopic liver transplantation is easy to perform with high achievement ratio of operation. It is an ideal animal model for pre-clinical studies of liver transplantation.
