Arterial flap (II): an experimental study in rabbits

Skin flaps are normally characterized by arterial inflow and venous outflow. However, there are several reports about experimental and clinical applications of venous and arterialized venous flaps. On the other hand, some studies evaluated the importance of different pedicle types in prefabricated flaps. It was discovered by chance that a prefabricated free flap, having arterial-only inflow, could be used successfully in eyelid reconstruction. An experimental study on arterial flaps in rabbits showed that an arterial-only inflow was adequate for flap viability until the establishment of venous neovascularization.Presented at the 14th Congress of Turkish Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Ankara, Turkey, October 1992