FOLLOWING-UP HEMATOLOGICAL AND MICRO-RHEOLOGICAL ALTERATIONS DURING THE EARLY HEALING PHASE OF LOCAL AND ROTATED MUSCULOCUTANEOUS FLAPS IN RATS

Abstract

This study investigated the hematological and micro-rheological changes during the early healing phase of local and rotated musculocutaneous flaps in rats. The research aimed to understand how ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury and surgical trauma affect microcirculation and red blood cell (RBC) properties, which are critical for flap survival in reconstructive surgery. Healing of bilateral cutaneous maximus musculocutaneous flaps resulted in deterioration of hematological, RBC deformability and aggregation parameters during the first two weeks of wound healing. In complicated cases micro-rheological parameters worsened in a larger magnitude. These changes are related to acute phase reaction, thrombotic and I/R complications, affecting further microcirculatory parameters.