Fate of a second perforator free flap used to salvage failure of the first perforator free flap.

Publication/Presentation Date

10-1-2013

Abstract

Perforator flaps should no longer be considered an exotic or complicated option for microsurgical tissue transfer. However, despite a proper design and attention to detail, as with any free flap, failure can be anticipated sometimes to occur. If a free flap is then still indicated, the big question is what to do next? In our series of 314 perforator free flaps over the past decade, 21 (7%) total failures occurred. A second free flap was attempted for 17 (81%) of these cases. Overall these were successful for 16 (94%) patients, including 11 perforator free flaps that were 100% successful. The anterolateral thigh (ALT) free flap proved to be the "workhorse" alternative. It can be concluded that if failure of a free flap can best be rectified by a second free flap, failure of a perforator free flap can also be reliably salvaged by a second perforator free flap.

Volume

29

Issue

8

First Page

523

Last Page

530

ISSN

1098-8947

Disciplines

Medicine and Health Sciences

PubMedID

23852761

Department(s)

Department of Surgery

Document Type

Article

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