title: Effect of free-radical scavengers and hyperbaric oxygen on random-pattern skin flaps.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether treatment with the combination of hyperbaric oxygen and free-radical scavengers or inhibitors would result in increased skin-flap survival.
  
  
  METHODS
  An animal model with male Sprague-Dawley rats was used. The flap was a cranial-based dorsal 3 x 12-cm random-pattern skin flap that included the panniculus carnosus. Rats were randomly assigned to one of 10 treatment groups.
  
  
  METHODS
  The radical scavengers superoxide dismutase, catalase, and alpha-tocopherol acetate and the inhibitor allopurinol were used to combat or scavenge radicals. Oxygen (100%) treatments were for 90 minutes at 2.5 atm absolute daily.
  
  
  METHODS
  At 7 days, the flaps were examined for survival by fluorescein injection. Lipid peroxidation as a measure of tissue damage was measured by thiobarbituric acid-malondialdehyde analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The combination of treatments resulted in significantly increased flap survival compared with untreated controls (P < .05) except in the group treated with allopurinol and hyperbaric oxygen. Lipid peroxidation was inhibited by the superoxide dismutase plus catalase and the alpha-tocopherol treatments but not by treatment with allopurinol.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Moderate doses of radical scavengers or antioxidants coupled with a conservative hyperoxic exposure regimen can result in the increased survival of random-pattern skin flaps.
authors.affiliation: University of California-San Francisco Valley Medical Education Program.
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Stewart
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bennett
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Easton
authors.forename: G W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Newton
authors.forename: K T
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Yamaguchi
mesh_terms: D000493:Allopurinol / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D002374:Catalase / Q000494:pharmacology; D016166:Free Radical Scavengers; D006931:Hyperbaric Oxygenation; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000494:pharmacology; D013524:Surgical Flaps; D014022:Tissue Survival / Q000187:drug effects*; D024505:Tocopherols; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000494:pharmacology; D024502:alpha-Tocopherol / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*
chemical_list: D016166:Free Radical Scavengers; D014810:Vitamin E; D000493:Allopurinol; D002374:Catalase; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase; D024502:alpha-Tocopherol; D024505:Tocopherols