Effect of prefabrication on the survival of venous island flap

ABSTRACT

There are some attempts to improve the survival of venous island flap, such as delay procedure and pharmacological agents. This study includes prefabrication of vein which could enhance the survival of the venous island flap. The venous island flap was created by a branch of the central vein in rabbit auricle. At 1.5 cm away from the distal margin of the designed flap, the central vein was dissected and transferred under the random part of the future venous flap for 1 week. The survival of prefabricated venous flap was compared with unprefabricated flap 1 week after the flap elevation. The vasculature in the flap were also visualized by microfil cast. The results were as follows: 1. The prefabrication improved the survival of the venous flap significantly. 2. The transferred veins in the prefabricated flap were well visualized 1 week after the flap elevation. In conclusion, it is inferred that the prefabrication enhance the survival of the venous island flap.