Changes in blood flow in the partially elevated epigastric pedicled flap in response to occlusion of the femoral artery in rats

In this study, the authors used a custom-designed clamping method and laser Doppler flowmetry to investigate the short-term autoregulatory patterns of blood flow (BF) in partially elevated pedicled epigastric flaps in rats (n =11). The femoral artery was clamped for 30, 60, 120 and 180 sec directly a fter flap elevation and 40 to 80 min after flap elevation. Changes during a nd after clamping indicate the functioning of autoregulatory factors in the vessels of the epigastric partially elevated flap. The longer the clamp is chemia is in a flap, the greater (p < 0.0001) is the need for a compensator y increase in BF and for a longer time (p < 0.0001) in the flap after clamp release. They compared the responses of BF directly after flap elevation w ith those 40 to 80 min after flap elevation. The results suggest a signific ant increase in the autoregulatory capacity of the pedicled partially eleva ted flap in measurements performed 40 to 80 min after flap elevation (p = 0 .043). They conclude that the novel clamping method seems to be reliable wh en studying the short-term autoregulatory patterns of the epigastric partia lly elevated pedicled flap.