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Abstract

Bioengineering

A Reliable Porcine Fascio-Cutaneous Flap Model for Vascularized Composite Allografts Bioengineering Studies

Published: March 31st, 2022

DOI:

10.3791/63557

1Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 2Vascularized Composite Allotransplantation Laboratory, Center for Transplantation Sciences, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 3Center for Engineering in Medicine and Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 4Shriners Hospital for Children, 5Department of Biomedical Engineering, Widener University, 6Service de Chirurgie Plastique, Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (APHP), Université Paris Descartes

Abstract

Vascularized Composite Allografts (VCA) such as hand, face, or penile transplant represents the cutting-edge treatment for devastating skin defects, failed by the first steps of the reconstructive ladder. Despite promising aesthetic and functional outcomes, the main limiting factor remains the need for a drastically applied lifelong immunosuppression and its well-known medical risks, preventing broader indications. Therefore, lifting the immune barrier in VCA is essential to tip the ethical scale and improve patients' quality of life using the most advanced surgical techniques. De novo creation of a patient-specific graft is the upcoming breakthrough in reconstructive transplantation. Using tissue engineering techniques, VCAs can be freed of donor cells and customized for the recipient through perfusion-decellularization-recellularization. To develop these new technologies, a large-scale animal VCA model is necessary. Hence, swine fascio-cutaneous flaps, composed of skin, fat, fascia, and vessels, represent an ideal model for preliminary studies in VCA. Nevertheless, most VCA models described in the literature include muscle and bone. This work reports a reliable and reproducible technique for saphenous fascio-cutaneous flap harvest in swine, a practical tool for various research fields, especially vascularized composite tissue engineering.

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Keywords Porcine

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