Limiting the rate of reperfusion blood flow following prolonged ischemia in skeletal muscle has been shown beneficial. However, the persistence of this benefit with reinstitution of normal blood flow remains undefined. We investigated the role of temporary limited reperfusion on ischemia-reperfusion injury in an isolated gracilis muscle model in six anesthetized dogs. Both gracilis muscles were subjected to 6 hr of ischemia followed by 2 hr of reperfusion. Reperfusion blood flow was limited for the first hour in one gracilis muscle to its preischemic rate followed by a second hour of normal reperfusion (LR/NR). The contralateral muscle underwent 2 hr of normal reperfusion (NR/NR). Muscle injury was quantified by technetium-99m pyrophosphate (TcPyp) uptake and by histochemical staining using triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) with planimetry of the infarct size. Capillary permeability was evaluated by muscle weight gain. Results are reported as the mean +/- SEM: [table: see text] These data demonstrate a sustained benefit from temporary limited reperfusion. This methodology should be considered in the surgical management of the acutely ischemic limb.