Venous Anastomoses Using Microvascular Coupler in Free Flap Head and Neck Reconstruction

The Use of Venous Coupler Device in Free Tissue Transfers for Oral and Maxillofacial Reconstruction

“…5,15 In 1995, DeLacure et al 16 applied a microvascular anastomotic coupler for free flap head and neck reconstruction for the first time; since then, much research on the microvascular anastomotic coupler in free flap head and neck construction has been reported. 1,2 In this study, 69 microvascular couplers were used for venous end-to-end anatomoses in 69 flap reconstructions, and the overall flap survival rate was 100%. This result is at least as good as in previous studies.…”

“…The postoperative thrombosis rate is only 0 to 3%, achieving rather good clinical results. 2,9,10 Thus far, however, there are few reports about the clinical application of microvascular anastomotic couplers in China. The authors' stomatological medical center has been using microvascular anastomotic couplers for FTTs for head and neck reconstruction since December 2012.…”

Clinical experience with 80 microvascular couplers in 64 free osteomyocutaneous flap transfers for mandibular reconstruction

“…It has been reported that the application of a coupler reduces the time taken to perform the vascular anastomosis such that the entire operation time is reduced by approximately 40-60 min compared to hand-sewn anastomosis. 2,4,5 There was no adverse effect associated with coupler implantation during the follow-up period. This study of our experience showed that mechanical anastomotic coupling devices are much faster and require less technical skill than the traditional hand-sewn microvascular anastomosis, although a statistical analysis was not performed.…”

“…1 Hand-sewn anastomosis has been the traditional and standard technique for these microsurgical reconstructions. 2 However, this intimal-penetrating technique poses a risk for intravascular thrombosis, which can lead to eventual flap loss in some patients. 3 In recent years, microvascular couplers have been introduced as an alternative method for anastomosis in free flap head and neck reconstruction.…”

Microvascular anastomosis using modified micro-stents: A pilot in vivo study

“…Ardehali et al (2014) have reported, in their review, that more than 2900 venous anastomosis have been carried out with a patency of 98.5% (Ardehali et al, 2014). However, they conclude that the use is mostly limited to venous anastomosis (Zhang et al, 2012). Chernichenko et al (2008) in contrast, have shown the use of the coupler device in 127 free flaps with a 97.6% of survival rate.…”