Effects of n-acethyle cysteın on ımprovements of skın flap vıabılıty ın rats

In plastic surgery, skin flaps are widely employed. However, partial necrosis in the distal portions is still a serious problem, which increases the cost of treatment and hospitalization. Flap necrosis results from inadequate blood perfusion and ischemia-reperfusion injury. In recent years, various experimental approaches have been tried to enhance skin flap viability, including pharmacological and surgical manipulations.Free oxygen radicals play an important role in skin tissue injury, leading to partial flap necrosis. Therefore, in the current study, it was aimed to investigate the effects of N-acethyle cystein (NAC), a highly effective antioxidant agent, on skin flap survival in rats.Fourteen male Wistar rats were randomly divided into two groups of 7 each, control and NAC-groups. A standardised dorsal random pattern (2 x 7 cm) skin flap was elevated in the rats of both groups. In rats of NAC group, NAC was administered intramuscularly at a dose of 40 mg/kg body weight/day (20 mg/kg at 8:00 am and 20 mg/kg at 8:00 pm) for 10 days. In rats of control group, %0.9 NaCl solution was intramuscularly administered for 10 days. Skin flap viability was evaluated on postoperative day 10, and the extent of the viable skin flap area was compared between control and NAC-groups.The injection of NAC resulted in a significant increase in skin flap viability when compared with control group (viable skin flap ratio in the NAC-treated group, %52.59±5.09; control group, %33.52±3.56; p < 0.001).In conclusion, our findings suggest that application of NAC might have considerably increased flap viability in the distal parts of skin flaps, and therefore NAC application might be used to support the treatment in skin flap surgery.Key Words: N-acethyle cystein, antioxidan, skin flap, rat.