Effects of University of Wisconsin and lactated Ringer's solutions to ischemia-reperfusion injury in isolated cremaster flap.

Ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury is a topic that has been much-discussed by various researchers during the last decade in plastic surgery. Though much progress has occurred, the problem is not totally solved yet. In particular, the pathophysiology of reperfusion injury in skeletal muscle has not been clearly elucidated. The aims of this study are to assess the effects of a variety of perfusants on the microcirculation after reperfusion injury and to better understand the pathophysiology of reperfusion injury. Isolated cremaster flaps were performed in 44 rats, preserving the femoral artery and vein in order to cannulate with microtubes. There were 2 control and 2 experiment groups. In one of the control groups and in both experimental groups, 2 h of ischemia were applied by clamping the iliac vessels. Immediately after this, the muscle was locally perfused and washed with lactated Ringer's (LR) and University of Wisconsin (UW) solutions, given from the femoral artery and drained by the femoral vein in the two respective experimental groups. The effects of these solutions to I/R injury were shown at the microcirculatory level via measuring and determining preischemic and postischemic diameters of arterioles and venules, tissue perfusion, capillary density, velocity of red blood cells, and leukocyte sticking. Both tested perfusion solutions were found to be harmful in all parameters. This study demonstrates that both LR and UW solutions aggravate I/R injury. Copyright 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.