VASCULARIZATION OF TUBED PEDICLES

Abstract

Observations are recorded in the study of the development of circulation in tubed pedicles in experimental animals. Several of the tests popularly used in the evaluation of circulation in cases of peripheral vascular disease have been applied in these animals. These tests include the saline wheal test, the fluorescein test and a modification of the temperature return test. This modification is referred to as the skin temperature-tourniquet test. The clinical value of these tests was checked by arteriograms of the tubed pedicles (using thorotrast), by histologic section of the pedicles and finally, by the surgical transplantation of the pedicles at varying time intervals after their construction. The evidence indicates that when the degree of fluorescence of a tubed pedicle matches that of the adjacent normal tissue and when a saline dermal wheal resorbs as rapidly from the tubed pedicle as from the adjacent normal skin, the pedicle may be -transplanted successfully. In addition, observations on the saline wheal test and on the fluorescein test in tubed pedicles in humans are reported. This study leads to the conclusion that both the saline wheal test and the fluorescein test give more accurate evaluation of the circulatory efficiency of a tubed pedicle than do clinical observations alone.