The influence of pentoxifylline on skin-flap survival.

Experimental studies were performed on rats to demonstrate the effects of pentoxifylline (20 mg/kg per day), administered enterally, on skin-flap viability. This was compared to saline controls and to the alpha-blocking agent (phenoxybenzamine 1 mg/kg per day). Pentoxifylline-treated flaps had a greater than 50 percent increase in tissue survival over controls as compared to 22 percent with phenoxybenzamine. The two drugs in combination appeared to have no additional benefit over the use of pentoxifylline alone. Although a quantitative difference in red-cell flow could not be demonstrated in the experimental flaps utilizing 99mTc pertechnetate-tagged red-cell imaging, the dramatic increase in tissue viability suggests that the rheologic properties of pentoxifylline are important in altering the pathophysiology of skin-flap failure.