Technology in microvascular surgery.
With the refinement of microvascular technique, free-tissue transfer has emerged as the standard of care in head and neck reconstruction. Success rates and reductions in operative time have reduced "flap take" from being the marker of reconstructive success to being an expectation. Interest has now shifted to improvement of technique, with surgeons placing increasing importance on donor site morbidity, quality of tissue harvested, and esthetic and functional outcomes. Much of the recent success can be attributed to technological advance through improvement in instrumentation and technique and enhancement of the understanding of flap physiology and anatomy. This article reviews some of the recent advances and how they have affected microvascular surgery from preoperative, operative, and postoperative standpoints.
Cusano
Alessandro
A
Section of Head Neck Surgery, Divison of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, University of Florida College of Medicine - Jacksonville, 653-1 West 8th Street, Jacksonville, FL 32209, USA.
Fernandes
Rui
R
D000714:Anastomosis, Surgical / Q000379:methods; D000792:Angiography; D006801:Humans; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography; D013677:Medical Laboratory Science; D008866:Microsurgery / Q000379:methods*; D055806:Microvessels / Q000601:surgery; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D013524:Surgical Flaps / Q000098:blood supply; D020858:Tissue and Organ Harvesting / Q000379:methods; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D018615:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Color; D014656:Vascular Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods*