title: The role of the venous system in the abdominal flap of the rat.
abstract: The abdominal flap of the rat has become a popular model with investigators. Recently, researchers have been reporting survival of skin flaps with varying blood supplies. We studied the viability of skin flaps on a consistent model with varied blood supply. An 8 x 9 cm flap was raised in 40 male Sprague-Dawley rats. The viability of the flaps could be studied in 25 rats. The survival of a pedicled flap based on the left inferior epigastric artery and vein was compared with that of a pedicled flap with enhanced venous drainage. The survival of a venous flap based on the paired inferior epigastric veins and the paired long thoracic veins was compared with that of an arterialized venous flap. A composite graft was used as a control for all groups. A qualitatively improved survival was found in the pedicled venous-enhanced group (66 percent) compared with the pedicled flaps (56 percent) (p > 0.05). An improved survival was found in the arterialized venous flap (57 percent) compared with the venous flap (40 percent) (p < 0.05). All flaps had improved survival compared with the composite graft (0.6 percent) (p < 0.05).
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Miles
authors.forename: N L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Crosby
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Clapson
mesh_terms: D000009:Abdominal Muscles / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000637:transplantation; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001166:Arteriovenous Shunt, Surgical; D003286:Contracture / Q000209:etiology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D019074:Epigastric Arteries / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology; D005263:Femoral Artery / Q000601:surgery; D005268:Femoral Vein / Q000601:surgery; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006085:Graft Survival / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D009336:Necrosis; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012039:Regional Blood Flow; D016038:Skin Transplantation / Q000145:classification / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology; D013524:Surgical Flaps / Q000145:classification / Q000473:pathology* / Q000502:physiology; D013909:Thorax / Q000098:blood supply; D014680:Veins