Porcine thigh as an ideal cadaveric animal model for flap training: a home do-it-yourself model

Perforator dissection can be technically demanding with a steep learning curve. Surgical training during the spare time was vital to compensate for inadequate clinical exposure. The objective of this study was to explore a home do-it-yourself model for flap training.

The artery and vein of ten porcine hindlimb were infused with black-colored latex and red-colored latex, respectively. The distribution of obvious perforators in the skin was carefully observed. The retrograde anatomy of each perforator was carefully determined to explore its source artery. Perforator flap planning and dissection were conducted on 5 hindlimb.

It was observed that there were three obvious perforators that were primarily located in the lateral, anterolateral and posterior sides of the thigh. Retrograde anatomy showed that the three perforators originated from two source arteries: the femoral profound artery and the superficial circumflex iliac artery. Based on the two source arteries, we named the three perforator flaps as follows: the superficial circumflex iliac artery flap, the profunda artery perforator flap in the posterior femoral region, and the profunda artery perforator flap in the lateral femoral region. All of the three perforator flaps can be easily located and harvest in a convenient position.

The porcine thigh was an ideal cadaveric animal model for flap training. These three newly described porcine perforator flap models were easy to replicate at home without the need for an ethics license or for anesthesia.

Not gradable.