* The effects of botulinum toxin A on survival of rat TRAM flap with vertical midline scar.
- The transverse rectus abdominis musculocutaneous (TRAM) flap has been widely used in various reconstructive surgeries. Recently, there have been reports regarding the positive effect of botulinum toxin A (BoTA) on flap survival. We hypothesized that pretreatment with BoTA could augment the survival of pedicled TRAM flaps with a vertical midline scar. Twenty-four Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 2 groups, namely, control group and BoTA group. Five days after a vertical midline incision, the BoTA group was pretreated with BoTA, whereas the control group was pretreated with normal saline. Ten days after the initial incision, the TRAM flap was harvested. We evaluated the gross flap survival and analyzed the overall histologic change, lumen area of pedicle, and microvessel density with immunohistochemistry. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction was performed for the evaluation of angiogenesis-related factors. In the BoTA group, the gross flap survival rate was significantly higher than that in the control group on both ipsilateral and contralateral sides (P < 0.001). In the BoTA group, a significant increase in pedicle lumen area was observed (P < 0.001). In the control group, mild to moderate epidermal necrosis was seen; microvessels were relatively small compared with those of the BoTA group. According to immunohistochemistry, the number of CD31 positively stained vessels was significantly higher on the contralateral side in the control group compared to that in the BoTA group (P < 0.001). The relative messenger RNA (mRNA) expression of CD31 was significantly lower in the BoTA group than that in the control group on both ipsilateral and contralateral sides (P < 0.001). Meanwhile, the relative mRNA expression of VEGF was significantly higher in the BoTA group than in the control group on both ipsilateral and contralateral sides (P < 0.001).We believe that preoperative BoTA therapy is a feasible method to improve circulation of the rat TRAM flap with a vertical midline incision scar.
Overview of noun factor
The noun factor has 7 senses (first 4 from tagged texts)
1. (31) factor -- (anything that contributes causally to a result; "a number of factors determined
the outcome")
2. (8) component, constituent, element, factor, ingredient -- (an abstract part of something;
"jealousy was a component of his character"; "two constituents of a musical composition are melody
and harmony"; "the grammatical elements of a sentence"; "a key factor in her success"; "humor: an
effective ingredient of a speech")
3. (4) divisor, factor -- (one of two or more integers that can be exactly divided into another
integer; "what are the 4 factors of 6?")
4. (1) agent, factor, broker -- (a businessman who buys or sells for another in exchange for a
commission)
5. factor -- (any of the numbers (or symbols) that form a product when multiplied together)
6. factor -- (an independent variable in statistics)
7. gene, cistron, factor -- ((genetics) a segment of DNA that is involved in producing a polypeptide
chain; it can include regions preceding and following the coding DNA as well as introns between the
exons; it is considered a unit of heredity; "genes were formerly called factors")
Overview of verb factor
The verb factor has 3 senses (first 1 from tagged texts)
1. (2) factor, factor in, factor out -- (resolve into factors; "a quantum computer can factor the
number 15")
2. factor -- (be a contributing factor; "make things factor into a company's profitability")
3. factor, factor in, factor out -- (consider as relevant when making a decision; "You must factor
in the recent developments")
--- WordNet end ---