Liver damage as a consequnce of ischemia (I) and reperfusion (R) is known to harm the liver
and could hence be a critical factor of the postoperative outcome of patients undergoing
liver surgery. In order to protect the liver from ischemic damage following interventions
such as the Pringle Maneuver, preconditioning has been successfully applied in various animal
models as well as in humans. Since ischemia inevitably leads to cell hypoxia and subsequnet
release of endogenuous metabolites, the investigators hypothesize that instead of brief
periods of ischemia, the exogenuous infusion of purine analogues may also protect against
subsequent prolonged periods of ischemia. Moreover, after reperfusion, the antiinflamamtory
action of purine ananlogue infusion can further attenuated liver damage.