Skin Flap Models for Assessment of Angiogenesis

Abstract

Skin flaps are surgically elevated areas of skin and subcutaneous tissue transferred on their own vascular pedicle from a donor site to a recipient site that is devoid of skin. Skin flaps have been used in clinical reconstructive surgery for over 100 years and remain common procedures to this day. This chapter will describe numerous experimental animal skin flap models that have been developed over the last 40 years, and the various techniques applied to these models to increase their survival including vascular delay, ischemic preconditioning and flap prefabrication. Most of these techniques are now known to significantly increase the blood vessel numbers and blood flow to experimental skin..