Effect of surgical denervation on the viability of inferior epigastric neurovenous flaps in the rat.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine how the inferior epigastric neurovenous flap in the rat reacts to surgical denervation. The survival of a denervated flap was compared with that of an innervated flap. A 2 x 2-cm flap was raised in 30 female Wistar rats assigned randomly to six groups of 10 rats each: group 1, innervated neurovenous flap; group 2, denervated neurovenous flap, acute model; group 3, denervated neurovenous flap, chronic model; group 4, innervated inferior epigastric island flap; group 5, denervated inferior epigastric island flap, acute model; and group 6, control, composite graft. Acute denervation produced a significant decrease in the survival of the inferior epigastric neurovenous flap (p < 0.05). The surviving area of the innervated flaps decreased from 94+/-14% (mean +/- standard deviation) to 16+/-34% by acute denervation. Chronic denervation was effective in decreasing flap necrosis in these flaps (survival, 99+/-5%). There were no differences between the average viable area of the standard inferior epigastric flap in the denervated and innervated groups.