Abstract
Local skin flaps have revolutionized reconstructive surgery. Mechanical loading is critical for flap survival: excessive tissue tension reduces blood supply and induces tissue necrosis. However, skin flaps have never been analyzed mechanically. Here we explore the stress profiles of two common flap designs, direct advancement flaps and double back-cut flaps. Our simulations predict a direct correlation between regions of maximum stress and tissue necrosis. This suggests that elevated stress could serve as predictor for flap failure. Our model is a promising step towards computer-guided reconstructive surgery with the goal to minimize stress, accelerate healing, minimize scarring, and optimize tissue use.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 32-39 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Computers and Structures |
| Volume | 143 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 2014 |
Funding
This work was supported by the CONACyT Fellowship and the Stanford Graduate Fellowship to Adrian Buganza Tepole and by the National Science Foundation CAREER award CMMI 0952021 , by the National Science Foundation INSPIRE Grant 1233054 , and by the National Institutes of Health Grant U54 GM072970 to Ellen Kuhl.
Keywords
- Finite element analysis
- Membranes
- Reconstructive surgery
- Skin
- Tissue expansion
- Transverse isotropy
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Mechanical Engineering
- General Materials Science
- Computer Science Applications
- Civil and Structural Engineering
- Modeling and Simulation