Arteriovenous shunting in the pig

Forty axial-pattern skin flaps in 10 pigs were studied, and 50 and 15 mu radioactively tagged microspheres were used to study blood flow at 2 days and 7 days after surgical delay. Blood flow increased during this period. No statistically significant change in the index of non-nutrient flow, an expression of arteriovenous shunting, or in percent shunting occurred. It would appear that changes in shunting during the period of delay studied did not occur and cannot explain the enhanced survival of tissue resulting from a surgical delay procedure.