Use of computer analysis in flap research.

A computer based analysis of survival of experimental rat skin flaps is presented. The two commonly used experimental flaps, the modified McFarlane dorsal skin flap and the ventral skin flap, are compared. The analysis of the data showed that although the McFarlane flap is random, and the ventral flap based on one epigastric vascular bundle is both axial and random, there was no statistically significant difference in the percent of survival of these flaps. The advantages of the computer based method are discussed.