Free flap transplantation in mice.

A new model is presented that adapts the standard experimental groin free flap model to the mouse. The femoral vessels upon which the microvascular anastomoses are based are very small (0.2-0.4 mm diameter in the artery), making this a technically challenging exercise. A 100% patency was achieved for flap replantation in ICR (outbred) mice. Success rates for flap transplantation in Balb/C (syngeneic) mice rose from 20 to 75% with modification of the anastomoses from end-to-end to end-to-side procedures. This model offers new avenues of investigation when combined with recently developed transgenic mouse models.