Ischemia in wound healing. I: Design of a flap model--changes in blood flow.

A standardized ischemic, H-shaped, double flap model in rats was developed for investigating the influence of different factors that could potentially increase flap survival. The blood flow was measured in the flaps as well as in normal healing incisional wounds on day -1 (intact skin) and on days 1, 4, 8, and 16 by the xenon-133 (133Xe) clearance technique. The flow in normal healing incisional wounds remained the same as the flow in intact skin. The flow in the flaps, however, initially decreased to ischemic levels, but afterwards gradually increased to that of normal healing incisional wounds and intact skin. Further, the cutaneous blood flow in both the cranially and the caudally based ischemic dorsal flap was independent of the width of the flap.