title: Prefabrication and free transfer of a tissue engineered composite flap - An experimental model in the rat.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The technique of flap-prefabrication has been successfully established in tissue engineering: missing intrinsic vascularisation of engineered tissue can be generated in vivo by microsurgical vesselloop construction. It is possible to move engineered tissue into a defect with microsurgery. In the literature, the combination of engineered tissue covered with skin is not widely reported.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Aim of this study was to establish a model to investigate scaffold prefabrication with full thickness skin graft coverage with subsequent free tissue transfer.
  
  
  METHODS
  8 Wistar rats were operated in 2 separate steps: 1) after creating an arteriovenous loop with the femoral vessels, a porous scaffold was placed on the loop and covered with an inguinally based skin flap. A control was implanted without loop into the contralateral groin. 2) 6 weeks later the prefabricated composite flaps were microsurgically transferred to the cervical region. Skin-island monitoring was performed with Laser Doppler-scanner after the transfer.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Continuous loss of the skin islands was observed within 72 hours. Complications included wound-dehiscence, thrombosis and death from anaesthesia; in spite of consistent loop viability.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Evaluation showed that modifications are necessary to maintain the skin-island cove.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic, Hand and Reconstructive Surgery, University Medical Center Regensburg, Germany.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Mandlik
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic, Hand and Reconstructive Surgery, University Medical Center Regensburg, Germany.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kehrer
authors.affiliation: Division of Microsurgery, Pius Branzeu Center for Laparoscopic Surgery and Microsurgery, Victor Babes University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timisoara, Romania.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jiga
authors.affiliation: Division of Microsurgery, Pius Branzeu Center for Laparoscopic Surgery and Microsurgery, Victor Babes University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timisoara, Romania.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hoinoiu
authors.affiliation: Division of Microsurgery, Pius Branzeu Center for Laparoscopic Surgery and Microsurgery, Victor Babes University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timisoara, Romania.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ionac
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biomaterial Science and Berlin-Brandenburger Centre for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht, Teltow, Germany.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.affiliation: HNO Praxis im Zentrum, München, Germany.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Staudenmaier
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic, Hand and Reconstructive Surgery, University Medical Center Regensburg, Germany.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Prantl
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D016038:Skin Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D013524:Surgical Flaps / Q000601:surgery*; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*
keywords: Composite tissue; angiogenesis and vasculogenesis; animal models; enabling technologies; fundamentals of tissue engineering; tissue engineering applications