title: A microneurovascular study of the great saphenous vein in man and the possible implications for survival of venous flaps.
abstract: Cross sections (n = 372) of human long saphenous veins (n = 12) from unsalvageable fresh above knee amputation specimens brought to a trauma centre in a large metropolitan hospital were studied. The veins were harvested longitudinally with an amount of soft tissue equivalent to the diameter of the vein and sectioned at intervals of 5 mm. The sections were stained with haematoxylin and eosin for general study, Van Gieson for better delineation of different coats of the vessel wall and reticulin stain to differentiate between venules and arterioles. The vascular structures within the vein wall and its surrounds were analysed by using analySISpro via a CCD camera attached to a light microscope, with the help of a frame grabber card and image analysis software. Results show that the vein has vasa vasorum within its wall, a capillary network around it, arterioles, venules and the saphenous nerve and its branches with their vascular network a further distance apart. The relevance of the microsurgical anatomy of the saphenous vein and its soft tissue envelope in the survival of venous flaps is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Lokmanya Tilak Municipal Medical College and Hospital, Sion, Mumbai, India.
authors.forename: B B
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Nayak
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Thatte
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Thatte
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Baliarsing
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jagannathan
authors.forename: S P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Pandit
mesh_terms: D004801:Eosine Yellowish-(YS); D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D006085:Graft Survival; D006416:Hematoxylin; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D012155:Reticulin; D012501:Saphenous Vein / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D013524:Surgical Flaps / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D012155:Reticulin; D004801:Eosine Yellowish-(YS); D006416:Hematoxylin