[A hemifacial transplantation model in hares].
OBJECTIVE
To design an animal model to study the facial transplantation of allografts in rabbits.


METHODS
Livid blue rabbits and New Zealand white rabbits was applied as experiment animal, to harvest hemifacial composite-tissue flap based in the common external carotid artery with the branch of the external mandibular artery and auricularis magna artery, then allotransplantation was performed with the livid blue rabbits as recipient while new Zealand rabbits as donor, the immunosuppressive agent comprised ciclosporin, azamun and prednisone. 25 couples of rabbits were divided three groups. Group A, 5 couples of rabbits, no administered immunosuppressive agent and the artery anastomosis with end-to-end. Group B, 10 couples of rabbits, administered immunosuppressive agent and the artery anastomosis with end-to-end. Group C, 10 couples of rabbits, administered immunosuppressive agent and the artery anastomosis with end-to-side. Postoperative, to observe the survive ratio of animal and composite-tissue flap, verified the practicability of model further.


RESULTS
The blood supply of hemifacial composite-tissue flap is rich after allotransplantation. The survive ratio wasn't different with different procedure of the external carotid artery anastomosis.


CONCLUSIONS
This is a successful model of composite face flap transplantation in the rabbits.
Zhang
Xu-dong
XD
Department of Plastic Surgery, Xijing Hospital, the Forth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China.
Guo
Shu-zhong
SZ
Han
Yan
Y
Wang
Da-tai
DT
Ni
Yun-zhi
YZ
Zhang
Lin-xi
LX
D000818:Animals; D054445:Facial Transplantation; D023421:Models, Animal; D011817:Rabbits; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous