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Figure 7: Harvest of lateral thoracic artery flap. The rabbit’s head
is located on the left. (a) The pedicle is visible throughout the skin
after shaving. The pivot point of the flap (green circle) is situated at
the latero-inferior border of the pectoralis muscle, where the lateral
thoracic artery appears superficially; (b) view on the lateral thoracic
artery and vein within the panniculus carnosus, coursing over the thorax
(left) and abdomen (right). The lateral thoracic artery anastomoses with
the superficial inferior epigastric artery at the level of the third nipple;
(c) opening of fascia and panniculus carnosus distally; (d) elevation of
the flap from the underlying muscles; (e) heterotopic prelamination of
trachea within the lateral thoracic artery flap

Figure 6: Timeline of tracheal revascularization and transplantation
Animal Experimentation of KU Leuven verifies each study
and shows anatomical variations. [17,18] Compared to protocol. As with any animal, it is important to handle
the shorter, variable human lateral thoracic vessels, rabbits with care. When lifting rabbits out of their cages,
rabbit vessels in our series (n > 200) had a consistent, their lower legs are supported to prevent spinal cord
long course before anastomosing with the superficial injuries secondary to kicking.
inferior epigastric artery. As in humans, the caliber of the
artery is small. Patency and course of the pedicle were Anesthesia
demonstrated by isolating the flap for 2 weeks in situ, and General anesthesia is performed by the researcher
by injecting silicone dye into the lateral thoracic artery after having obtained adequate training skills and
(Microfil, Flow Tech, Inc., Massachusetts) [Figure 3]. qualifications regarding laboratory animal science, the
use of anesthetic agents, and monitoring tools.
RABBIT ANESTHESIA AND
EUTHANASIA Adult New Zealand white rabbits, weighing approximately
3 kg, are used in all studies. Rabbits are anesthetized
Animal handling by inhalation of isoflurane. Because of the particular
All rabbits are treated according to the European Directive smell of this gas, conscious rabbits will counteract its
on the Protection of Animals. The Ethical Committee for use. Moreover, induction with isoflurane may cause life-
226 Plast Aesthet Res || Volume 3 || July 7, 2016