Abstract
The purpose of the current study was to determine the effects of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) on muscle flap survival and vascularity in a rat gracilis ischemia-reperfusion model. A total of 12 adult male Wistar rats were divided into two groups (n = 6). The experimental group received the plasmid encoding VEGF(165) cDNA plus lipofectamine (cationic liposome) injected directly to the gracilis muscle following 4 h of ischemia. The control group received lipofectamine only. The viability and vascularity of the flaps were evaluated after 7 days of reperfusion. The data demonstrated that the VEGF plasmid- and lipofectamine-treated muscle flaps had significantly greater total survival and capillary count 7 days after reperfusion compared with the flaps treated only with lipofectamine. These results indicate that VEGF exerts a protective effect on ischemic skeletal muscle flaps.
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