title: The "Rolled-Up Sleeve" Technique for Microvascular Venous Anastomosis in Head and Neck Reconstruction: Animal Study and Clinical Series.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Venous anastomosis is challenging especially when encountering the thin recipient vein wall in the head and neck region. The authors developed the "rolled-up sleeve" technique to solve this scenario.
  
  
  METHODS
  An animal study was performed to access the safety and reliability of the "rolled-up sleeve" technique. This technique was performed in 53 consecutive patients during head and neck reconstruction.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the animal study, all anastomoses were patent. Histological analysis revealed neo-endothelialization over the anastomotic site. This technique was applied to 59 recipient veins: branch of internal jugular vein (27), external jugular vein (17), superficial temporal vein (9), retromandibular vein (4), facial vein (2), and internal mammary vein (2). No venous thrombosis occurred in these clinical series.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The "rolled-up sleeve" technique is a useful procedure that can be performed safely to deal with thin vascular walls for venous anastomoses in head and neck reconstructions.
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Mario F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Scaglioni
authors.forename: Yur-Ren
authors.initials: YR
authors.lastname: Kuo
authors.forename: Yen-Chou
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000714:Anastomosis, Surgical / Q000379:methods; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D058752:Free Tissue Flaps / Q000098:blood supply / Q000637:transplantation*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008866:Microsurgery / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D051381:Rats; D011917:Rats, Inbred Lew; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014680:Veins / Q000601:surgery*