The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of delay procedure on the survival and vasculature of a skin prefabricated flap with mean area rate of the 48.2cm² in a rat abdominal wall donnor site model. The skin flap was prefabricated by implantation of a distally ligated femoral pedicle into subdermal layer of the skin. Skin of the abdominal wall donnor site of 25 Wistar rats were compared in three groups of flaps receiving (A) pedicle implantation with no delay and (B) and (C) delay performed at the time of pedicle implantation. Three weeks later, the flaps in the group A and B were raised as an island flap, based on the implanted pedicle. In the group C, the implanted pedicle was severed when the flaps were raised. Seven days later, survival area in groups A, B and C were marked and the percentage survival area, with regard to whole flap area, calculated by Auto Cad R-14. The vascular density around the implanted pedicle, in groups A and B, was assessed by histological study. The mean percentage survival rate of the skin flap was 9.6 percent in the nondelayed group, 44.8 percent in the delayed group and 0.3percent in the group with implanted pedicle severed. The results of this study showed that delay procedure significantly increased (p<0.01, two-tailed Mann-Whitney test) the percentages survival of the flap and was found to have no influency over vascular density (p=0.307 two-tailed Mann-Whitney test) developed around the pedicle implantation three weeks after prefabrication.
Prefabricated flap; Delayed; Survival area; Flap vasculature; Rats
