To begin, prepare 16-gauge and 20-gauge intravenous catheters for the portal vein, or PV, and the infra hepatic inferior vena cava, or IHIVC, respectively. Using a scalpel, cut the catheter to create the cuff. Then with the back of the scalpel, create a shallow groove on the cuff's surface for thread fixation.
Place small ice cubes in a rectangular-shaped plastic container, and position a small metal cup on top of the container. Fill the cup with organ preservation fluid and place the syngeneic liver graft in it. Under eight to 10 X magnification, gently roll the liver graft using a cotton swab, ensuring that the porta hepatis faces upwards.
Thread the PV through the cuff, using a thread attached to the splenic vein. With the cuff handle at the 12:00 position, secure the handle and cuff with a bulldog clamp, positioning it two to three millimeters from the PV edge. Further secure the bulldog clamp using large vascular forceps and a fixation mold to establish the operative field.
Next, increase the magnification to 15 to 20 X and carefully inspect the PV lumen. After grasping the PV lumen, externalize the thin wall of PV through the inner lumen of the cuff. Secure the fully externalized PV lumen with a double ligation using 8-O silk thread along the cuff's groove, and then cut the string.
Similarly, attach the cuff to the IHIVC lumen, and fix it using 8-O silk thread. Then, to create a slipknot, pass the thread around the base of the IHIVC to temporarily ligate it.
