Preventive Effect of Edaravone Against Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury in Rat Epigastric Island Flaps: An Experimental Study

Objective Ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury is tissue damage occurring when blood returns to a tissue after an ischemic phase. Reperfusion initiates a cascade of acute inflammatory processes that end in cell death, tissue malfunction, and necrosis. Edaravone (3-methy-1-pheny1-2-pyrazolin-5-one) is a powerful and unique synthetic radical scavenger. In this research, the effects of edaravone on I/R damage were investigated. Material and Methods: 16 adult male Sprague–Dawley rats were utilized. Eight rats were allocated at random into two groups. Group 1 (the control group) experienced ischemia and reperfusion of an abdominal skin flap for 10 hours without therapy. Group 2 (treatment group) received an intraperitoneal injection of 3 mg/kg edaravone 10 hours prior to ischemia and reperfusion in an abdominal skin flap. Using planimetry, flaps were examined at intervals of 1, 3, 7, and 10 days. Then, flaps were removed for biochemical (measurement of tissue glutathione [GSH], tissue protein, lipid peroxidation [MDA], and nitric oxide [NO] levels) and histopathological (measurement of tissue glutathione [GSH], tissue protein, lipid peroxidation [MDA], and nitric oxide [NO] levels) Results: We found no significant changes (p > 0.05) between groups 1 and 2 in terms of NO, MDA, GSH, or planimetric analyses. Group 2 had a lower neutrophil count than group 1, however the difference was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Conclusion Edaravone is a very effective antioxidant. Nevertheless, our research indicates that it may not influence I/R damage in a skin flap model.