ABSTRACT
The behavior and growth pattern of a transplanted fetal allograft limb in young rabbits
were studied. No previous similar studies have been reported in the English literature.
Ninety-four fetuses of four-weeks gestation were obtained through hysterectomy. The
left hind limb of the fetus was dissected and disarticulated at the hip joint, preserving
the long pedicle consisting of the inferior vena cava and abdominal aorta. The skin
was stripped and nails were removed from the fetal limb prior to transplantation into
a subcutaneous pouch on the medial aspect of the right thigh of a six-week old rabbit.
The aorta and the inferior vena cava of the fetus were anastomosed to the femoral
vessels of a recipient young rabbit, using the operating microscope. The rabbits were
radiographed at fortnightly intervals to assess growth in the transplanted fetal limb.
The rabbits were divided into three experimental groups: Group 1 (n = 26) -vascularized
fetal allograft; Group 2 (n = 6)-non-vascularized fetal allograft; Group 3 (n = 5)-vascularized
fetal allograft with Cyclosporin A.
Preliminary results in Group 1 showed growth in the vascularized fetal limb allograft,
with a maximum accelerated growth in the first four weeks. All Group 2 non-vascularized
fetal allografts showed no growth. Group 3 showed an increased and accelerated limb
growth in the first six weeks of transplant. The results demonstrated that vascularized
fetal allograft has the potential for low-grade immunogenicity and of growth at the
initial stage, especially with adjunctive immunosuppressive therapy.
