Tracking mesh topology changes

Hi everyone-

I was curious about capturing the index remapping process that occurs when a mesh topology is altered.  For example, when an edge is split, it creates new edges, faces and vertices.  But it also re-indexes the existing topology lists, such that what had been topologyedge(x) may now be topologyedge(y).  I have had some success utilizing a mesh's edge and vertex information in the deployment of particle simulation systems that allow for dynamic and ongoing addition of new elements, and I am interested in continuing down this path.  My previous work relied really heavily on ensuring that existing mesh edges and vertices remained intact...so the mesh was wholly additive, in that it could accumulate new edges and vertices, but wouldn't alter the existing topology.  But now I find that I would like to alter existing topology, but still tie my particle system to the mesh.  So what I'd like to know is if there would be some way to capture the transformation of topology when executing the split/collapse/swap edge methods.  I would imagine the output being lists of edges whose indices changed and what the new index is, lists of newly added indices, and lists of extracted indices.  It seems to me that all of this information must be embedded behind the scenes in these methods for the mesh to be properly updated.  The only other option it seems to me is to actually iterate through a series of heavy, looped comparisons of the pre- and post-transformed mesh topology lists/geometries to identify new relationships and update the appropriate forces in the particle system...which strikes me as a compound of bad and slow.  Am I missing something that already exists? Anyone with any pointers?

thanks,

Dave