Padubidri A N, Browne E
Department of Plastic Surgery, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, OH, USA.
Ann Plast Surg. 1997 Nov;39(5):500-4. doi: 10.1097/00000637-199711000-00010.
The standard rat epigastric artery flap has been a very reliable model for flap research. The purpose of this study was to describe a modified design of this flap that included only the medial branch of the epigastric artery. Axial-pattern epigastric island skin flaps, measuring 8 x 8 cm, were raised in two groups of Sprague-Dawley male rats. In group A (N = 20) the vascular pedicle consisted of the main trunk of the epigastric vessel and both medial and lateral branches. In group B (N = 20) the flap was based solely on the medial branch of the epigastric artery, excluding the large lateral branch. The flaps were elevated and then sutured back to their beds. Flap survival was studied and the amount of viable skin in both groups was compared 1 week later. The rats were photographed using a digital camera and the images were analyzed using imaging software. The mean percentage surviving flap area in group A was 86.24% and in group B it was 69.72%, which is statistically significant (p < 0.001). We believe that this flap model, with its new modified design that includes a larger flap and inclusion of only the medial branch, will broaden its application to microsurgery. The main advantage of this flap over the conventional epigastric flap is that in this model it is possible to achieve predictable and consistent necrosis in the random extension of the flap.
标准大鼠腹壁动脉皮瓣一直是皮瓣研究中非常可靠的模型。本研究的目的是描述这种皮瓣的一种改良设计，该设计仅包括腹壁动脉的内侧分支。在两组雄性Sprague-Dawley大鼠中掀起尺寸为8×8 cm的轴型腹壁岛状皮瓣。A组（n = 20）的血管蒂由腹壁血管主干以及内侧和外侧分支组成。B组（n = 20）的皮瓣仅以腹壁动脉的内侧分支为蒂，不包括大的外侧分支。掀起皮瓣后再缝合回原处。研究皮瓣存活情况，并在1周后比较两组中存活皮肤的量。使用数码相机对大鼠进行拍照，并使用成像软件对图像进行分析。A组皮瓣存活面积的平均百分比为86.24%，B组为69.72%，差异具有统计学意义（p < 0.001）。我们认为，这种具有新改良设计（包括更大的皮瓣且仅包含内侧分支）的皮瓣模型将扩大其在显微外科中的应用。与传统腹壁皮瓣相比，这种皮瓣的主要优点在于，在该模型中，皮瓣的随机延伸部分能够实现可预测且一致的坏死。
