Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Breviscapine injection can affect microcirculation, decrease ischemia-reperfusion injury, decline blood viscosity, as well as anti oxygen free radical injury, which plays an important role in the treatment following flap transplantation.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of breviscapine injection on the survival of random pattern skin flap with large length-to-width ratio in rats and the probable mechanism that contribute to this effects.
METHODS: Thirty SD rats were randomly divided into the experimental groups and control group (n=10). Random pattern skin flap of 8 cm × 2 cm (length: width = 4: 1) in size was made on the back of each rat. Breviscapine injection (4.5 mg/kg), danshen injection (1.8 mL/kg) and normal saline with the same dose were injected into the abdominal cavity of rats in the experimental groups and the control group immediately after the operation and the next seven days. The rats were killed at 7 days after operation. The survival rate of the flap, the tissue pathology from the proximal, middle and distal flaps, and the superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, the level of malonyldialdehyde (MDA) and nitrogen monoxide (NO) were compared between these groups.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The mean survival rate of the flap in the experimental groups was higher than that in the control group at 7 days after operation, especially in the breviscapine injection group (P < 0.05). Histological observation showed that compared with the control group, the edema, necrosis and inflammatory cells infiltration were less, while the microvascular growth and the fiber hyperplasia were more obvious in the experimental groups, especially in the breviscapine injection group
(P < 0.05). SOD activity in experimental groups were higher than that in the control group, while the level of MDA and NO were lower than that in the control group, especially in the breviscapine injection group (P < 0.05). The intraperitoneal use of breviscapine injection may promote the survival rate of the random pattern skin flaps with large length-to-width ratio in rats, and the possible mechanism for improvement may lies in that the breviscapine injection can expand the microvascular, improve circulation, reduce the level of oxygen free radical and lipid peroxidation. The effects of breviscapine injection to promote the survival rate in flaps were better than that of danshen injection.