Ovarian autogenous transplantation on the greater omentum – an experimental model

Abstract

Purpose: in order to maintain the gonadal function after oophorectomy, morphofunctional aspects of ovarian autotransplantation on the greater omentum and the best kind of implantation were investigated: intact or sliced. Methods: forty cycling female Wistar rats were randomly divided in four groups: Group I (n=5), control – laparotomy; Group II (n=5), bilateral oophorectomy; Group III (n=10), intact ovarian autotransplantation; Group IV (n=10), sliced ovarian autotransplantation both in the greater omentum. The estrous cycle was investigated in the third and sixth postoperative months and histological studies of the ovarian implants were carried out taking into acccount: the degeneration, fibrosis, inflammatory reaction, angiogenesis, follicular cysts, follicular development and corpi luteum. Results: Animals of Group I preserved their cycling sequence. Rats of Group II remained in diestrus. In Group III, 11 rats remained in diestrus, three presented incomplete cycles and one showed normal cycle. In Group IV, three animals remained in diestrus, eight showed incomplete cycles and four showed normal cycles. The histology of ovaries of Group III were normal in ten female rats, however ovaries of the remaining five animals presented degeneration. In Group IV, 14 female rats had ovaries with preserved morphological aspect, and signs of degeneration occurred in one specimen. Conclusions: the ovarian autotransplantation in the greater omentum showed a viable and the sliced form and presented better morphofunctional aspects than the intact implants.