THE ROLE OF THE VENOUS SYSTEM IN THE ABDOMINAL FLAP OF THE RAT

The abdominal flap of the rat has become a popular model with investig ators. Recently, researchers have been reporting survival of skin flap s with varying blood supplies. We studied the viability of skin flaps on a consistent model with varied blood supply. An 8 x 9 cm flap was r aised in 40 male Sprague-Dawley rats. The viability of the flaps could be studied in 25 rats. The survival of a pedicled flap based on the l eft inferior epigastric artery and vein was compared with that of a pe dicled flap with enhanced venous drainage. The survival of a venous fl ap based on the paired inferior epigastric veins and the paired long t horacic veins was compared with that of an arterialized venous flap. A composite graft was used as a control for all groups. A qualitatively improved survival was found in the pedicled venous-enhanced group (66 percent) compared with the pedicled flaps (56 percent) (p > 0.05). An improved survival was found in the arterialized venous flap (57 perce nt) compared with the venous flap (40 percent) (p < 0.05). All flaps h ad improved survival compared with the composite graft (0.6 percent) ( p < 0.05).