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Wound Hypoxia in Deep Tissue after Incision in the Rats
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Wound Hypoxia in Deep Tissue after Incision in the Rats

Sinyoung Kang, Dongchul Lee, Brett E Theusch, Christopher J Arpey and Timothy J Brennan
Wound repair and regeneration, Vol.21(5), pp.730-739
09/2013
DOI: 10.1111/wrr.12081
PMCID: PMC3776009
PMID: 23926943
url
https://doi.org/10.1111/wrr.12081View
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

Our previous studies using rat models of incisional pain have demonstrated that tissue lactate levels increase and pH decreases for several days after incision, suggesting the presence of an ischemic-like condition. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the time course and the extent of tissue hypoxia that develops in incised muscle and skin. We directly measured oxygen tension at several time points after incisions of the gastrocnemius muscle, the paraspinal skin, and the plantar hindpaw in anesthetized rats using an oxygen-sensitive microelectrode. In vivo hypoxia of the incised tissues was also evaluated immunohistochemically using a hypoxia marker pimonidazole hydrochloride. To minimized inter-subject variability, unincised contralateral tissues were used as a control. Tissue oxygen tension was decreased in both skeletal muscle and skin compared to control, for several days after incision: when measured directly, oxygen tension decreased immediately and remained low for several days after incisions. Pimonidazole immunostaining revealed hypoxic areas in incised muscle and skin for several days. By postoperative day 10, tissue oxygen tension recovered to that of control tissue. These results support the evidence that a hypoxic condition is present in deep tissue after incisions and that an ischemic-like mechanism may contribute to postoperative pain.
Incision Hypoxia Deep tissue Ischemia Incisional pain Hyperalgesia

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