Intermittent ischaemia of skin flaps shortens time taken to divide pedicles: an experimental study in rats.

Ischaemic preconditioning increases the survival of flaps. Random-pattern McFarlane dorsal flaps were raised in 30 female Wistar rats, which were divided into three groups. An ischaemic conditioning protocol with clamping of the pedicle was used. No clamping was used in the control group, and the pedicle was clamped for 15 minutes in the second group and 20 minutes in the third group daily to see if the duration of ischaemia had any effects on the viability of the flaps. The pedicles were divided earlier in the clamped groups than in the control group. The size of necrotic areas of the flaps in the clamped groups was smaller than on the control group. Daily postoperative intermittent ischaemic conditioning in the pedicles of the flaps had a protective effect on their survival and led to earlier division of the pedicles.