Experimental study of heterotopic reconstruction of blood supply of femoral head by saphenous artery and accompanying vein

Objective  To explore the animal experimental research method of heterotopic reconstruction of blood supply of femoral head by saphenous artery and accompanying vein of porcine posterior limbs.

Methods  Ten ordinary landrace pig aged 8 to 10 months and weighed 90 to 104 kg were anesthetized to establish subcephalic femoral neck fracture model, which was fixed on the medial edge of the proximal tibia after being separated; the posterior inferior retinacular artery was anastomosed with the branches of the saphenous artery and the anterior retinacular artery was anastomosed with the saphenous vein branches to reconstruct the blood supply of the femoral head under microscope; the fenestration of the bone surface and digital subtraction angiography (DSA) were used to observe the blood flow of the femoral head immediately after operation; the bleeding of the femoral head drilling at 7 days after the operation were observed, and the external diameters of the anterior retinacular artery and posterior inferior retinacular artery as well as the calibers of the saphenous artery and vein branches were recorded.

Results  The anterior retinacular artery and posterior inferior retinacular artery basically matched the calibers of the saphenous artery and saphenous vein, and vascular anastomosis could be performed. Fenestration through the bone surface and DSA showed that blood flow in the femoral head was obvious after ectopic vascular anastomosis, and there was obvious active bleeding in femoral head drilling at 7 days after operation. There were no obvious perioperative adverse reactions in the experimental pigs.

Conclusion  Heterotopic reconstruction of blood supply of femoral head by saphenous artery and accompanying vein of porcine posterior limbs shows a good effect, which can provide a fast, effective and less traumatic experimental method, and it can indirectly demonstrate the theoretical possibility of reconstructing the blood supply of the femoral head after subcephalic femoral neck fracture through intraosseous anastomosis.