Fig. 1

Development of a pig model of musculocutaneous radiation lesion. a Experimental design. b Photographs at surgery for fibrosis/necrosis. The skin and muscular necrosis and underlying tissues up to healthy muscle were excised, and all deep fibrosis was removed until bleeding and muscle contraction occurred. A pedicled fasciocutaneous perforator flap was elevated and closed at the site with absorbable suture. c Histological characteristics of the skeletal muscle after hematoxylin and eosin staining. d Alizarin-stained transverse sections of nonirradiated skeletal muscle (control group), irradiated skeletal muscle on the day of surgery (Irr D100 group), and 12 months after flap surgery with (flap-MSC group) and without (flap group) MSC treatment. The flap group showed large areas of fat cell infiltration, which is absent in the groups with MSC treatment. Scale bar 100 μm