Hemodynamic Study of Three Patterns of Flaps on Rats with a Novel Panoramic Photographing Technique Involved.

Abstract No study heretofore has been conducted to investigate the hemodynamic characteristics of the perforator, perforator-plus, and random flaps on an animal model. Thirty Sprague-Dawley rats were equally divided into three groups: the perforator group, the perforator-plus group, and the random group. Laser Doppler flowmetry was adopted for measurement of blood perfusion of the flaps at six time points. Another nine rats were equally divided into three groups and underwent the corresponding surgery. On day 7, the flaps were photographed for calculation of the necrosis rate. The vascular network of flaps in each group was photographed immediately postoperatively and at days 3 and 7 after surgery with a special technique first proposed by us. No significant difference in flap necrosis could be detected in the perforator and perforator-plus flaps. Other than on day 1, when perfusion of the perforator was significantly stronger than that of the perforator-plus flap, there was no significant difference between the perforator and perforator-plus flaps. The three perforasomes in the perforator and perforator-plus flaps could all survive because of considerable dilation of vessels. On day 7, the vascular network between the iliolumbar perforator and the sacrococcygeal perforators underwent tremendous enlargement in diameter in the random flap group. The perforator flap and the perforator-plus flap are equal in blood perfusion. The survival of the random flap depends on the dilation of the vascular network between the pedicle and the nearest potential perforator.