A standardized model of microvenous thrombosis

A standardized model of venous thrombosis is necessary when evaluating potential antithrombotic or thrombolytic agents in microsurgery. Previous studies have shown the adventitial 'tuck' model to be advantageous in terms of the vascular reactivity achieved and the relative ease of performance. However, variability exists in the current design, due to the lack of standardized dimensions of the adventitial flap. Two variations of this model are presented which attempt to overcome this problem and their reproducibility is compared to the inversion graft model of venous thrombosis in the rat femoral vein. The 'femoral vein flap' is suggested as a suitable model to simulate anastomotic thrombosis during microvenorrhaphy.