Prefabrication and free transfer of a tissue engineered composite flap – An experimental model in the rat

Issue title: Selected Presentations held at the 35th Conference of the German Society for Clinical Microcirculation and Hemorheology, Mainz, Germany, 4-5 November, 2016

Guest editors: F. Jung and T. Gori

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Mandlik, V.^{a; *} | Kehrer, A.^a | Jiga, L.^b | Hoinoiu, B.^b | Ionac, M.^b | Jung, F.^c | Staudenmaier, R.^d | Prantl, L.^a

Affiliations: [a] Department of Plastic, Hand and Reconstructive Surgery, University Medical Center Regensburg, Germany | [b] Division of Microsurgery, Pius Branzeu Center for Laparoscopic Surgery and Microsurgery, Victor Babes University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timisoara, Romania | [c] Institute of Biomaterial Science and Berlin-Brandenburger Centre for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht, Teltow, Germany | [d] HNO Praxis im Zentrum, München, Germany

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author: Veronika Mandlik, University of Regensburg, Medical Center, Department of Plastic, Hand and Recontstructive Surgery, Franz-Josef-Strauß- Allee 11, 93053 Regensburg, Germany. Tel.: +49 941 944 6763; Fax: +49 941 944 6948; E-mail: [email protected].

Abstract: BACKGROUND: The technique of flap-prefabrication has been successfully established in tissue engineering: missing intrinsic vascularisation of engineered tissue can be generated in vivo by microsurgical vesselloop construction. It is possible to move engineered tissue into a defect with microsurgery. In the literature, the combination of engineered tissue covered with skin is not widely reported. OBJECTIVE: Aim of this study was to establish a model to investigate scaffold prefabrication with full thickness skin graft coverage with subsequent free tissue transfer. METHODS: 8 Wistar rats were operated in 2 separate steps: 1) after creating an arteriovenous loop with the femoral vessels, a porous scaffold was placed on the loop and covered with an inguinally based skin flap. A control was implanted without loop into the contralateral groin. 2) 6 weeks later the prefabricated composite flaps were microsurgically transferred to the cervical region. Skin-island monitoring was performed with Laser Doppler-scanner after the transfer. RESULTS: Continuous loss of the skin islands was observed within 72 hours. Complications included wound-dehiscence, thrombosis and death from anaesthesia; in spite of consistent loop viability. CONCLUSION: Evaluation showed that modifications are necessary to maintain the skin-island cove.

Keywords: Composite tissue, tissue engineering applications, animal models, enabling technologies, angiogenesis and vasculogenesis, fundamentals of tissue engineering

DOI: 10.3233/CH-168120

Journal: Clinical Hemorheology and Microcirculation, vol. 64, no. 3, pp. 319-331, 2016