Short-term augmentation of venous drainage with extra-corporeal shunt and simultaneous auto-transfusion, for salvaging a congested free flap.
Adequate drainage of venous blood is the most critical part of successful free tissue transfer. We report a case of anterolateral thigh flap used for covering open communited tibial fracture. The flap was salvaged with short term augmentation of venous drainage with external shunt. The drainage was continued for six days. It was confirmed that there is no more congestion after blocking the catheter and then the drainage was discontinued on seventh day. The flap was successfully salvaged. This method has potential applications in multiple situations for successful salvage of free tissue transfer.
Department of Plastic Surgery, Sparsh Hospital, Bangalore, India.
Rahul K
RK
Patil
Department of Plastic Surgery, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Cochin, Kerala, India.
Kiran
K
Jayaprasad
Department of Plastic Surgery, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Cochin, Kerala, India.
Saurabh
S
Sharma
Department of Plastic Surgery, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Cochin, Kerala, India.
Mohit
M
Sharma
Department of Plastic Surgery, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Cochin, Kerala, India.
Jimmy
J
Mathew
Extracorporeal drainage; external shunt; salvage of congested flaps; venous obstruction in free flap