The salvage of rabbit ischaemic epigastric free flaps using the vasodilator calcitonin gene-related peptide

Abstract

The rabbit epigastric free flap, subjected to 21 hours of warm (25°C) ischaemia, was used as an experimental model to test the ability of two endothelium-dependent vasodilators, calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and carbamyl β-methylcholine chloride (MCh, bethanechol chloride, the stable acetylcholine analogue) to improve flap viability. After the period of ischaemia, flaps were infused intra-arterially with either Hanks balanced salt solution (controls), CGRP or MCh for 30 minutes, and received additional intravenous boluses of these drugs at 2 and 32 minutes after revascularisation. The area of flap surviving improved significantly (p < 0.025) from 39.9% (n = 18) for controls to 70.2%..