Results of monitoring fasciocutaneous, myocutaneous, osteocutaneous and perforator flaps: 4-year experience with 166 cases

Microsurgical reconstruction of the head and neck – Current practice of maxillofacial units in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland

“…Interestingly, in the literature different monitoring modalities, varying from clinical observation to technical devices for the detection of flap compromise, were not associated with a higher success rate or a lower complication rate (Spiegel and Polat, 2007). This also reflects the importance of experience in microsurgical procedures and individual flap management as rated by the different departments (Hölzle et al, 2010a;Kruse et al, 2010;Salemark, 1991;Smit et al, 2007).…”

Free flap transplantation using an extracorporeal perfusion device: First three cases

“…2). According to previous studies (Holzle et al, 2010), permanent flow values of <15 AU (arbitrary units) and SO 2 of <10% were identified to be critical for the arterial blood supply to the flap. A rapid increase in Hb concentration of >30% was taken as a sign of venous congestion.…”

Analysis of 13 cases of venous compromise in 178 radial forearm free flaps for intraoral reconstruction

“…19 According to the recent literature, numerous devices have been introduced to monitor the patency of microvascular repairs, such as laser Doppler flowmetry, 20 implantable Doppler probes, 21 simultaneous laser-Doppler flowmetry and tissue spectrophotometry. 22 The authors also think that exteriorisation of a monitoring segment is of critical importance in buried flaps to allow rapid identification of complications and urgent operative intervention for compromised flaps. 19,23,24 These new monitoring devices and techniques may be valuable in future clinical work.…”