The Vascularization of a Free Full Thickness Skin Graft:II. A Microangiographic Study

Abstract

In contact microangiograms of full-thickness scrotal autografts transplanted to the ears of rabbits, the following events were noted: 1. The first vascular filling within the graft was noted between 24 and 48 hours after grafting. It was characterized by poor vascular filling with contrast medium which suggested irregular blood circulation and perhaps a low perfusion pressure. 2. The first vascular connections between recipient bed and graft were few. They were between the recipient bed and the mouths of large dilated vessels in the graft. 3. Invasion of the lower layers of the graft by capillaries from the recipient bed was noted between 48 and 72 hours after grafting. This invasion did not seem to be responsible for the increased number of small vessels in the superficial layers of the graft. New vessels in the superficial layers of the graft appeared to arise from preexisting graft vessels. 4. Vascular dilatation in the recipient bed and graft were marked until about the second or third day after grafting following which it gradually disappeared over the next few days. 5. Graft edema developed rapidly after grafting and reached a maximum on the third day after grafting. Thereafter it gradually disappeared and was almost entirely gone by the fifth to seventh day after grafting.