title: Functional and cosmetic outcome after closure of radial forearm free flap donor defect with porcine collagen membrane.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Disadvantages of the radial forearm free flap (RFFF) are related to the forearm donor site, which requires skin grafting for closure. Due to that matter, an alternative technique using porcine collagen membrane instead of skin grafting was considered and evaluated for its efficacy of donor defect closure.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ten patients requiring reconstruction of oral & maxillofacial defect underwent the single-staged reconstruction with the RFFF. The flap was elevated and the porcine collagen membrane (Rapiderm(®)) was fixed at the donor site with tie-over dressing. After leaving it for at least 2 weeks, it was replaced with an iodine-coated furazine gauze for continuous healing.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The patients did not develop any tendon exposure or infection. All forearms healed within 1 month. The mean graft size harvested was 27.75 ± 3.08 cm(2). A greater amount of granulation tissue was formed under the dressing gauze which resulted in a less conspicuous donor site. After 6 months the average scar dimension was 9.48 ± 1.07 cm. Appearance was excellent with good wrist motility and skin color.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The use of the porcine collagen membrane in the donor site of the RFFF is an alternative approach with less morbidity compared to other techniques. Nevertheless, further studies with a larger number of patients are needed to validate the present findings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, School of Dentistry, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea; Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, Dongtan Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University College of Medicine, Kyonggi-do, Korea; Oral Cancer Center & Clinical Trial Center, Seoul National University Dental Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Soo-Hwan
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Byun
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, College of Medicine, University of Ulsan, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Kang-Min
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, School of Dentistry, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea; Oral Cancer Center & Clinical Trial Center, Seoul National University Dental Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Soung-Min
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, School of Dentistry, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea; Oral Cancer Center & Clinical Trial Center, Seoul National University Dental Hospital, Seoul, Korea; Dental Research Institute, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea. Electronic address: leejongh@snu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Jong-Ho
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003094:Collagen; D004954:Esthetics; D005260:Female; D005542:Forearm / Q000601:surgery*; D058752:Free Tissue Flaps; D064593:Heterografts; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D060053:Transplant Donor Site; D014945:Wound Healing
chemical_list: D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D003094:Collagen
keywords: Donor site; Porcine collagen membrane; Radial forearm free flap; Rapiderm(®)