The Role of Early Identification of Superior Mesenteric Artery in a Modified Technique for Retrieval of Abdominal Organs for Transplantation

Abdominal organ recovery has undergone important changes in concepts and practice in recent years, most importantly in the combined approach to retrieve the liver and pancreas by one surgical team. We studied retrospectively 81 organ donors and their respective recipients that were performed from 1996-1997. We compared the results of organ function, morbidity, mortality, and operative time of two different surgical tech­niques. Besides the standard technique (group 1), we used a new technique (group 2) that involves pre cross-clamp identification of the superior mesenteric artery (SMA). There was no significant difference in organ function parameters between the two groups supporting the safety of the new technique. However, there was a 50% reduction in the time needed to achieve aortic cross clamping with the new technique. We conclude that this new technique is safe to apply, distinct in reducing organ retrieval time, and easy to learn.