title: [Experimental study on delayed effect of external skin expansion].
abstract: In using the external skin expander, we found that the expanded skin had the feature similar to a delayed flap. To study its mechanism, we chose 20 New Zealand rabbits and divided them into 2 groups randomly. The skin on the animal's back in the experimental group was expanded with the external skin expander. The laser Doppler flowmeter (LDF) and oxyhemograph (SpO2) were applied to detect skin microcirculation. The survival area and the results of microangiography of the two groups were compared. Results showed that the value of LDF of the expanded skin increased and the value of SpO2 returned to its origingal level at 12 days after expansion. The survival area in the experimental group was larger than the control. Microangiographic examinations indicated that the subcutaneous vascular anastomoses were obviously increased in the experimental group. We conclude that external skin expansion does not affect the quality of the expanded skin, and its effect is similar to delay technique.
authors.affiliation: Changhai Hospital, Second Military Medical University.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Qu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D008833:Microcirculation; D011817:Rabbits; D012867:Skin / Q000098:blood supply; D013524:Surgical Flaps / Q000379:methods; D015626:Tissue Expansion