title: Engineered Vascularized Muscle Flap.
abstract: One of the main factors limiting the thickness of a tissue construct and its consequential viability and applicability in vivo, is the control of oxygen supply to the cell microenvironment, as passive diffusion is limited to a very thin layer. Although various materials have been described to restore the integrity of full-thickness defects of the abdominal wall, no material has yet proved to be optimal, due to low graft vascularization, tissue rejection, infection, or inadequate mechanical properties. This protocol describes a means of engineering a fully vascularized flap, with a thickness relevant for muscle tissue reconstruction. Cell-embedded poly L-lactic acid/poly lactic-co-glycolic acid constructs are implanted around the mouse femoral artery and vein and maintained in vivo for a period of one or two weeks. The vascularized graft is then transferred as a flap towards a full thickness defect made in the abdomen. This technique replaces the need for autologous tissue sacrifications and may enable the use of in vitro engineered vascularized flaps in many surgical applications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic Surgery, Kaplan Medical Center.
authors.forename: Dana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Egozi
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Engineering, Technion Israel Institute of Technology.
authors.forename: Yulia
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shandalov
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Engineering, Technion Israel Institute of Technology; Interdepartmental Program in Biotechnology, Technion Israel Institute of Technology.
authors.forename: Alina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Freiman
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Engineering, Technion Israel Institute of Technology.
authors.forename: Dekel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rosenfeld
authors.affiliation: Medicine Department, Technion Israel Institute of Technology.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ben-Shimol
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Engineering, Technion Israel Institute of Technology; shulamit@bm.technion.ac.il.
authors.forename: Shulamit
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Levenberg
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001807:Blood Vessel Prosthesis; D006801:Humans; D019344:Lactic Acid; D051379:Mice; D008819:Mice, Nude; D011091:Polyesters; D011100:Polyglycolic Acid; D000077182:Polylactic Acid-Polyglycolic Acid Copolymer; D011108:Polymers; D013524:Surgical Flaps / Q000098:blood supply*; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D011091:Polyesters; D011108:Polymers; D000077182:Polylactic Acid-Polyglycolic Acid Copolymer; D011100:Polyglycolic Acid; D019344:Lactic Acid; C033616:poly(lactide)