The oblique rat groin flap.

Neovascularisation from the bed can result in the partial survival of failing rat groin flaps. This can interfere with the interpretation of pharmacological augmentation and ischaemia experiments. We describe the development of a modified rat groin flap which utilises the inguinal fat pad to diminish the effects of the bed on the skin component of the flap. The behaviour of this model is compared to that of standard rat groin flaps and flaps which have had polythene sheeting placed under them.