UTERUS TRANSPLANTATION IN CYNOMOLGUS MONKEYS: IN SURGICAL COMPARISON TO HUMAN ORGANS

Makoto Mihara¹, Hidehiko Yoshimatsu¹, Takumi Yamamoto¹, Mitsunaga Narushima¹, Takuya Iida¹, Isao Koshima¹.

¹Department of Plastic and reconstructive surgery, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.

Background: Uterine transplantation after colpopoiesis to acquire fecundity may be curative treatment for uterine and vaginal defects in patients with Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster (MRK) syndrome. Clinical application of uterine transplantation is also likely for young female patients who are infertile after hysterectomy for uterine diseases, and therefore uterine transplantation may have marked social effects. Prior to performance of this procedure in humans, transplantation experiments are required in primates with similar uterine anatomy and reproductive physiology.

Methods: In this study, we performed autologous uterine transplantation in two female cynomolgus monkeys to compare the anatomical properties between cynomolgus monkeys and humans, establish an autologous uterine transplantation procedure in the monkeys, and induce a menstrual cycle.

Results and Conclusion: Based on the results, the problems of uterine transplantation in cynomolgus monkeys and the potential clinical applications in humans are discussed.