Long-term functional donor site morbidity after ulnar forearm flap harvest.
BACKGROUND
The purpose of this study was to evaluate long-term functional donor site morbidity following ulnar forearm flap harvest taking both subjective and objective criteria into consideration.


METHODS
In this retrospective analysis, 61 patients were evaluated for subjective and objective donor site morbidity 3 to 164 months after flap harvest, and the Disabilities of Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) questionnaire was used for evaluation of subjective hand function.


RESULTS
There was no significant grip strength decrease in the donor limbs. Two patients developed severe functional impairment of the donor forearm. DASH scores displayed only minor functional impairment, with marginally improving scores with increasing time lag to surgery.


CONCLUSIONS
Low donor site morbidity was found after ulnar flap harvest. However, minor rates of patients suffered from severe impairment of the hand function. Therefore, we recommend using the nondominant limb and informing the patients in detail about the specific functional limitations.
Department of Maxillofacial Surgery, University Hospital of Luebeck, Luebeck, Germany.
Peter
P
Sieg
Mete
M
Dericioglu
Cathrin
C
Hansmann
Hans-Christian
HC
Jacobsen
Thomas
T
Trenkle
Samer G
SG
Hakim
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D005542:Forearm / Q000601:surgery*; D018737:Hand Strength; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008866:Microsurgery / Q000379:methods; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013524:Surgical Flaps; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D060053:Transplant Donor Site / Q000473:pathology*