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Updated: Jun 22, 2026
Spectral Confocal Imaging of Fluorescently tagged Nicotinic Receptors in Knock-in Mice with Chronic Nicotine Administration
Published on: February 10, 2012
Nicotine on rat TRAM flap
Pedro Bins Ely1, Ludmila Aimi Kobayashi, José Humberto Oliveira Campos
1Plastic Surgery Unit, Santa Casa de Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
Purpose:
The transverse rectus abdominis myocutaneous (TRAM) flap is one of the preferential techniques used in breast reconstruction following mastectomy. Nicotine has a detrimental effect on cutaneous flap survival; although there are no experimental studies proving this effect on musculocutaneous flaps. The aim of this study is to verify the effect of nicotine on the rat TRAM flap.
Methods:
30 Wistar EPM-1 rats were randomly distributed in two groups: control and experimental. The animals of the control group received saline solution injected subcutaneously, in a volume of 0.2 ml, twice a day, during 28 days in the preoperative period. The animals of the experimental group were treated with nicotine, injected subcutaneously, in a dose of 2 mg/kg twice a day, during 28 days in the preoperative period. All the animals were submitted to the caudally based, right unipedicled TRAM flap. 48 hours after the procedure, a study of the viable area of the flap was done through photographic documentation. Statistical analysis was performed with nonparametric Mann-Whitney's test.
Results:
The experimental group had significantly greater area of necrosis when compared with the control group (p<0.001).
Conclusion:
Nicotine increased the area of necrosis of the TRAM flap, in rats.
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