Abstract
Objective: 1) To establish a murine model to investigate cutaneous flap wound healing following ischemia reperfusion injury. 2) To characterize wound healing in a murine model with respect to tensile strength, blood flow, and tissue survival following varying periods of ischemia in a cutaneous flap.
Method: Twenty-eight cutaneous flaps based on the inferior epigastric artery in C57BL/6J/CD11 mice were elevated. Ischemia up to 270 minutes was produced. Following ischemia, skin flaps were inserted then monitored for flap necrosis daily for 2 weeks using digital imaging. Wound tensile strength and blood flow were evaluated on day 14.
Results: Peak necrosis for flaps with ischemia times >210 minutes occurred on postoperative day 5 (necrosis M = 57%, CI: 52, 64%). Skin tensile strengths and blood flow for ischemic times >210 minutes were significantly less than tensile strengths for ischemic times <210 minutes.
Conclusion: The described cutaneous flap murine model establishes basic wound healing characteristics following ischemic injury that may be useful in further study of novel interventions that enhance wound healing and cutaneous flap survival ultimately resulting in improved patient outcomes.
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