Regeneration of autotransplanted splenic tissue is not proportional to total weight and size of transplanted fragments

Young minipigs were used as a model for splenic autotransplantation in children. After splenectomy about 7% of the spleen was implanted in the greater omentum either as a single slice or as three small slices. Six months later there was no difference in the amount of regenerated splenic tissue or lymphocyte content between these two groups. The regenerated tissue weighed 3.98±1.9 g, which is not less than after whole spleen transplantation and is only about 6% of the splenic weight of control minipigs. The regenerated splenic tissue contained only about 3% of normal splenic lymphocyte numbers. Based on data from the literature on splenic regeneration in man and on the present experiments in animals, about 10% of the traumatized spleen seems to be sufficient for splenic regeneration after intraomental implantation.Offprint requests to: R. Pabst