title: Clinical applications of free arterialized venous flaps.
abstract: Venous flaps are flaps by which tissue perfusion is accessed through the venous network. Despite originally being questioned due to potential perfusion problems, as the dynamics of tissue perfusion have been more fully comprehended, venous flaps appear to have a far wider range of application than first thought. In our study, we analyzed the clinical results of the applications of free arterialized venous flaps along with the factors that can affect flap survival. Forty-one flaps were assessed retrospectively. Type of the trauma, traumatized area, the time duration between trauma and application of the flap, donor area, type and count of the anastomosis, encountered complications, and flap survival rates were analyzed. Regression and classification trees were used to study the relationship between flap surface area, anastomosis count, and flap survival. Circulatory abnormalities such as early congestion and edema were seen in 53.6% of the applied flaps. A total of four flaps (9.7%) developed necrosis which presented as full thickness in three flaps and partial thickness in one flap. It can be said that there was a weak but positive correlation between the size of the flap area and the number of anastomosis. Although the results of arterialized venous flaps are inconsistent in the literature, those flaps can be preferred as an alternative treatment option in single finger defects where tissue compatibility and cosmetic results are quite impressive. In the meantime, syndactylized venous flaps are the preferred method regarding multiple finger soft-tissue defects.
authors: EMOT Hospital, Department of Hand Surgery, İzmir, Turkey.
authors: Murat
authors: M
authors: Kayalar
authors: Ege University Medical Faculty, Department of Hand Surgery, İzmir, Turkey. Electronic address: kucuklevent@yahoo.com.
authors: Levent
authors: L
authors: Kucuk
authors: EMOT Hospital, Department of Hand Surgery, İzmir, Turkey.
authors: Tahir Sadik
authors: TS
authors: Sugun
authors: EMOT Hospital, Department of Hand Surgery, İzmir, Turkey.
authors: Yusuf
authors: Y
authors: Gurbuz
authors: Tepecik Training Hospital, Department of Orthopedics, İzmir, Turkey.
authors: Ahmet
authors: A
authors: Savran
authors: EMOT Hospital, Department of Hand Surgery, İzmir, Turkey.
authors: Ibrahim
authors: I
authors: Kaplan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000714:Anastomosis, Surgical; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005383:Finger Injuries / Q000601:surgery*; D058752:Free Tissue Flaps / Q000098:blood supply*; D006085:Graft Survival; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D016879:Salvage Therapy; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014680:Veins / Q000601:surgery*
keywords: Free flap; Hand surgery; Hand trauma; Microsurgery