An experimental study of the flow-through venous flap: investigation of the width and area of survival with one flow-through vein preserved.
A quantitative analysis was undertaken to investigate the width and area of survival of flow-through venous flaps in 20 ears of 10 rabbits. The 3.0- x 3.0-cm flap models, which included one flow-through vein, were prepared with additional circulation from the graft bed and surrounding tissue excluded, as far as possible. The flaps were divided as follows: Group A--composite grafts (n = 10), and Group B--flow-through venous flaps (n = 10). All flaps in Group A became necrotic and all those in Group B showed partial survival along the flow-through vein. The average survival width was 1.10 +/- 0.48 cm, and the survival rate was 44 +/- 19.3 percent. Microangiograms revealed patency of the flow-through vein in all flaps of Group B. Histologically, there tended to be progressively more fibrous tissue in the area further away from the flow-through vein. The model is useful to investigate the width and area of survival in flow-through venous flaps.
Inada
Y
Y
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Nara Medical University, Japan.
Hirai
T
T
Fukui
A
A
Omokawa
S
S
Mii
Y
Y
Tamai
S
S
D000792:Angiography; D000818:Animals; D008866:Microsurgery / Q000379:methods*; D009336:Necrosis; D011817:Rabbits; D012039:Regional Blood Flow; D013524:Surgical Flaps / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology*; D014022:Tissue Survival / Q000502:physiology*; D014654:Vascular Patency; D014680:Veins / Q000502:physiology