Rat tail replantation as a training model for microvascular procedures of digit replantation.

In this study we sought to evaluate the potential of rat tail replantation as a tool for very-small-vessel microvascular anastomoses. We used 10 adult Sprague-Dawley rats. The tail was completely amputated 2.0-cm distal to the base of the tail. Then the tail was replanted with anastomoses of two superficial dorsal veins from both sides and one artery. All 10 replanted tails were pink, viable, and normal-appearing at all daily inspections performed from the first to the fourteenth postoperative days. This model can provide a training tool for the acquisition of superior microvascular surgical technique for the repair of very small vessels that stimulate digital replantation.