Experimental Study on Predicting Skin Flap Necrosis by Fluorescence in the FAD and NADH Bands During Surgery

The objective of the present study was to assess the feasibility of using endogenous fluorescence in intraoperative prediction of skin flap necrosis. The investigation was carried out in 10 Sprague–Dawley rats in which proximally based over‐dimensioned random pattern skin flaps were dissected on the back and thereafter fixed into position. Immediately after surgery on each rat, synchronous fluorescence spectra (Δλ = 90 nm) from five parts of the skin flap surface were measured. The presence of necrosis was evaluated on postoperative day 7. In flap parts designated as necrotic (n = 18), a significantly lower (P