ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Early reconstruction of burn defects culminates in more successful results. The wound healing process of the burned skin affects not only the curative phase of the burned area but also result of any reconstructive procedure including the regional flaps. Thus, in this study, we have evaluated the wound healing process at the distal incisions of random-pattern skin flaps prepared from burned dorsal skin of rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thermal burn damage was performed with dimensions of 3cm×3cm on Wistar albino rats. In group 1 (n=12), no burn was produced and 3cm×3cm caudally based, random-pattern skin flaps were elevated. In group 2 (n=12), a 5cm×5cm area of partial-thickness thermal damage was produced and after three days a 3cm×3cm random-pattern skin flap was elevated as in group 1 inside the burned skin site. In group 3 (n=12), 3cm×3cm area of partial-thickness thermal damage was produced and after three days 3cm×3cm random-pattern skin flap was elevated. In group 4 (n=12), 3cm×3cm area of partial-thickness thermal damage was produced and after three days a 3cm×3cm random-pattern skin flap was elevated at the distal margin of the burned area. The flaps were adapted to the donor sites in all groups. The histopathological evaluation was done and hydroxyproline levels were measured. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between groups regarding presence of epithelialization, myofibroblast numbers, and collagen texture (p>0.05). Neovascularization level was significantly higher in group 2 than the other groups (p<0.05). There were no statistically significant difference among the hydroxyproline levels in all four groups (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: The preference of the incision site in a burn zone while designing a flap during the acute burn period was proposed to possess no difference in terms of wound healing in an animal model.
