OBJECTIVETo establish a model of testis transplantation in the rat using cuff techniques.

METHODSSixty healthy inbred Wistar rats were included as donors and recipients. The testicular artery with the aortic segment with two cuffs was anastomosed to the recipient's aorta and the testicular vein with a cuff was anastomosed to the left common iliac vein of the recipient. The vas deferens was end-to-end anastomosed.

RESULTSOf the 30 rats undergoing transplantation, 27 survived, 2 died from paralytic intestinal obstruction and 1 died from hemorrhage. Of the 27 survivals, 4, 4 and 5 were vivisected on the 14th, 28th and 56th day after operation, respectively, showing a good blood supply to the graft. Another 14 rats were used in another experiment, which revealed no obvious congestion, necrosis and edema in the left lower limb of the recipients.

CONCLUSIONThe model of allogeneic rat testis transplantation established with cuff techniques, simple, stable and reliable, can be used as a tool for the study of testis transplantation.