A new vascularized skin transplant model in rats

The aim of this work was to develop a vascularized skin transplantation model in the rat to allow comparison of the immunological events with those of classic free skin grafts and vascularized organ grafts. Seventy-nine syngeneic transplants were performed using inbred Wistar and PVG rats to develop the model. Epigastric skin flaps were taken with a vascular pedicle of common femoral artery and vein and implanted on the back of the neck. The graft vessels were anastomosed end-to-end and end-to-side to the recipient common carotid artery and external jugular vein with interrupted 10-0 nylon sutures under an operating microscope. A high success rate (11 of 11) was achieved in the final method developed, with light microscopy confirming normal skin structure in the flaps following transplantation. The advantages of the model include comparable skin size to that commonly used for nonvascularized skin grafts, while the physiology in terms of blood supply is similar to that of vascularized organ grafts; the grafts are visible with free access for biopsy; and the size of the graft can easily be varied to allow studies concerning antigen load.