Objective To establ ish the experimental animal model of perforator sural neurocutaneous flap for laying a foundation of further study on its physiology and haemodynamics. Methods Thirty-five New Zealand rabbits were divided into four groups, weighing 2.5-3.0 kg and being male or female. In group A (n=5), vivisection was performed to observe the
starting point and arrangement of sural nerve, its concomitant vessels, posterior tibial artery and perforating vessel. In groups B and C (n=5), red latex and gelatin-lead oxide were injected into the concomitant arteries of sural nerve and the posterior tibial arteries respectively to observe their arrangement, the diameter and anatomasis. In group D, forty neurocutaneous flaps based on single perforator were elevated in the twenty rabbits with a size of 7 cm × 1 cm and a pedicle of 0.5 cm. The colour and condition of flaps were observed. Results The sural nerve originated from posterior tibial nerve, passed through the lateral head of the gastrocnemius at site of the popl iteal fossa, descended obl iquely to exterior, entered in the deep fascia at about (5.42 ± 0.15) cm above lateral malleolus, and descended vertically to lateral malleolus. Its concomitant artery originated from deep femoral artery with an initial diameter of (0.73 ± 0.11) mm and extended to the lateral malleolus along the sural nerve. A perforating branch of posterior tibial artery at the position of the calcaneus originated from the midpoint of the l ine connecting between the medial malleolus and the calcaneus with an initial diameter of (0.45 ± 0.01) mm. The perforating branch traversed the calcaneus to the region of the lateral malleolus, and anastomosed to the concomitant artery of the sural nerve, forming a vascular plexus around the sural nerve. In group D, two cases were excluded due to infection. The survival rate was 78.0% ± 1.5% in other 38 flaps 10
days after operation. Conclusion The perforator based sural neurocutaneous flap in rabbit is a good experimental model,
which has stable anamatic features and rel iable blood distribution.
Citation： WEN Gen,CHAI Yimin,WANG Chunyang,WU Xuhua,WANG Lei,CHENG Liang.. STUDY ON ANIMAL MODEL OF PERFORATOR SURAL NEUROCUTANEOUS FLAP. Chinese Journal of Reparative and Reconstructive Surgery, 2010, 24(4): 458-461. doi: Copy