Common Rodent Flap Models in Experimental Surgery

Abstract

Background: Flap procedures are widely used in clinical reconstructive surgery. Since ische­mia-associated complications, e.g., wound breakdown or tissue necrosis, are still a great challenge in flap surgery, experimental flap models are widely used to study flap physiology and to evaluate treatment strategies to prevent these complications. Summary: Since rodents in general, and mice and rats in particular, are widely used in experimental flap models, we give an overview of the most common flap models in rodents, including the cremaster flap, the osteomyocutaneous flap, the McFarlane flap, the ear flap, and the dorsal skinfold chamber. Key Messages: Rodent flap models in experimental surgery are manifold and have a long history. These models play an important role in training surgical techniques, understanding flap physiology, defining flap anatomy and vascularity, and developing treatment regimens to prevent the necrosis of ischemically challenged tissue. However, it is important to be aware of the advantages and disadvantages of the single flap models concerning the possible time span of the experiment, the degree of difficulty, and the reproducibility and the translation of the results in humans.

Influence of Pain and Analgesia on Orthopedic and Wound-healing Models in Rats and Mice

“…6 There are a number of rodent wound healing models: incisional, excisional, dead space, flap surgery, burns, aging, and dermonecrotic models in various locations including the dorsal, ventral, or neck areas, as well as the flank, leg, and feet areas. 8,39,74,79,119 Based on the assumption that what is painful to a human would be painful to another animal, analgesia should be included as part of the experimental design for all experimental surgical procedures. 20 When using animals in research, recognition and treatment of pain are essential for both ethical and regulatory reasons.…”

The dorsal skinfold chamber: A valuable model for the in vivo evaluation of topical formulations

“…The dorsal skinfold chamber was prepared as described previously in detail . Briefly, mice were anaesthetized by an intraperitoneal (ip) mixture of ketamine (75 mg/kg; Ursotamin ® ; Serumwerk Bernburg) and xylazine (15 mg/kg; Rompun ® ; Bayer).…”

Experimental Models to Study Skin Wound Healing with a Focus on Angiogenesis

“…Since then, microcirculation and tissue engineering research have frequently used the mouse dorsal skinfold chamber [19]. Microcirculatory studies focused on inflammation [20,21], thrombogenesis [22,23], thrombolysis [24,25], angiogenesis of tumors [26][27][28], endometriosis [29,30], biomaterials [31,32] and flap perfusion [33,34]. The number of studies using the dorsal skinfold chamber model for different approaches proves the dorsal skinfold chamber to be one of the most important in vivo models for repetitive microcirculation assessment.…”