title: Effect of tissue ultrafiltration on skin flap survival.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Tissue ultrafiltration (TUF) is a method of reducing tissue edema by removal of interstitial fluid. Considering the deleterious effects of edema on microcirculation and tissue viability, the effect of TUF on skin flap survival was tested.
  
  
  METHODS
  Survival of modified McFarlane skin flaps was determined in 40 Sprague-Dawley rats. In 20 treated animals, four 5-cm ultrafiltration catheters were placed in the subdermal plane of the distal flap 24 hours after flap elevation and connected to a down-regulated vacuum manifold for 8 hours. No catheters were placed in the control group.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Skin flap survival was improved in the experimental group (87.2 +/- 1.6) over the control group (76.7 +/- 2.2).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  TUF effectively improved skin flap survival. These results provide evidence of the causal effect of edema on tissue viability. The relative ease of use of TUF would allow cost-effective clinical application of this technique.
authors.affiliation: Hennepin County Medical Center, University of Minnesota School of Medicine, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. odlan007@tc.umn.edu
authors.forename: Rick M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Odland
authors.forename: Daryl
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rheuark
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ispirescu
authors.forename: Ron
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kizziar
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006085:Graft Survival; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D016038:Skin Transplantation / Q000379:methods; D013524:Surgical Flaps; D014462:Ultrafiltration