ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy can aleviate the skin flap congestion by improving the angiogenesis and increasing the oxygen content of blood in skin flaps. Although the HBO therapy ability to increase flap survival has been wel described, the research on the application of HBO pretreatment in skin flap transplantation does not arouse adequate concern. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of HBO pretreatment on early-stage flap congestion in the rat model of over-length dorsal random skin flaps. METHODS: Thirty-six SD rats were randomly divided into control group (n=12), HBO pretreatment group (n=12) and HBO treatment group (n=12). Rats in the HBO pretreatment group received 4 days of HBO therapy prior to transplantation, once a day. Rats in the HBO treatment group received 4 days of HBO therapy after transplantation. Rats in the control group were raised in the normal conditions after flap transplantation. At postoperative days 3 and 5, rats were sacrificed and the samples were colected. The inflammation of flap tissues was detected using hematoxylin-eosin staining. The expression of vascular endothelial growth factor and transforming growth factor-β was analyzed by immunohistochemistry staining. The flap survival rate was calculated at postoperative day 5. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The flap survival area of the HBO pretreatment group and HBO treatment group was larger than that of the control group (P 0.05). HBO pretreatment can increase the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor and transforming growth factor-β and promotes angiogenesis in random pattern flaps,thereby improving skin flap survival.