JOURNAL OF RECONSTRUCTIVE MICROSURGERY, vol.14, no.4, pp.245-250, 1998 (SCI-Expanded)
Despite the use of various types of osteomyocutaneous flaps in clinical practice, there are many unanswered questions regarding their basic physiology. Simple and reliable flap models are needed to investigate these problems. However, very few of these flap models have been described in small animals to date. The purpose of this study was to develop a new osteomyocutaneous flap model in the rabbit. Twenty adult New Zealand white rabbits, weighing 2.5 to 3.0 kg, were used in the reported experiment. In seven rabbits, the anatomy of the axillary vessels was studied by anatomic dissection and selective angiography. Based on this anatomic study, a new osteomyocutaneous flap, namely, the scapular osteomyocutaneous flap, is described in the rabbit model.