The effects of nicotinamide and hyperbaric oxygen on skin flap survival

Hyperbaric oxygen has been established as an acceptable treatment for the chronic healing wound. Nicotinamide has been shown to be angiogenic and accelerate the physiologic process following wounding. Therefore both nicotinamide and hyperbaric oxygen were evaluated to enhance flap survival in an island pedicle skin flap model. These two treatment modalities were evaluated alone and in combination to assess if there is an addictive effect to enhance flap survival. Forty Sprague-Dawley male rats (weight 300-350 grams) were treated for 14 days preoperatively 1 day post-operatively with either 400 mg of nicotinamide i.p. or saline i.p. On day 14, a 7 X 7 cm island pedicle skin flap was elevated ligating the left inferior epigastric neurovascular pedicle and were sutured in their normal position. Twenty animals then underwent hyperbaric oxygen treatments. Forty-eight hours post-operatively animals were re-anesthetized and were given a single injection of fluorescein (25 mg/kg) via the tail vein. The % survival of the flap and SEM of the groups are as follows: Saline 45.67 +/- 31.14, nicotinamide 85.30 +/- 9.24, saline-hyperbaric oxygen 76.70 +/- 9.42 and nicotinamide-hyperbaric oxygen 90.86 +/- 3.94 with statistical significance of p less than 0.01. Nicotinamide appears to be another acceptable therapeutic modality in the management of the acceleration of wound healing.