title: Short-stay hospital admission after free tissue transfer for head and neck reconstruction.
abstract: To show that, for patients with few medical comorbidities and at low risk for airway compromise or fistula formation, early discharge after free tissue transfer for head and neck reconstruction is a safe and viable option.
  
  
  
  Retrospective chart review.
  
  
  
  A cohort of patients who underwent free tissue transfer for head and neck reconstruction between February 2010 and December 2014 and who were discharged from the hospital by postoperative day 3 were reviewed.
  
  
  
  Fifty patients undergoing 51 free-tissue transfer surgeries were discharged by postoperative day 3. The surgeries performed included anterolateral thigh free flaps (ALT) (n = 46), radial forearm free flaps (n = 2), latissimus myogenous and myocutaneous free flaps (n = 1), supraclavicular free flap (n = 1), and serratus free flap (n = 1). All ALT flaps were harvested exclusively as perforator free flaps; and the vast majority used superficial temporal, angular, or facial vessels. All free flaps were viable without evidence of vascular compromise at discharge and the initial follow-up appointment. One patient required take-back for successful flap salvage. One patient experienced late flap failure (between 2-3 weeks postoperatively), requiring another surgery. This resulted in an overall success rate of 98% in this cohort. No other postoperative complications related to early discharge were identified.
  
  
  
  In a carefully selected subset of patients undergoing free tissue transfer, early discharge has been shown to be possible without compromising patient safety or surgery success rates.
  
  
  
  4. Laryngoscope, 126:2679-2683, 2016.
authors.affiliation: Head and Neck Institute, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Conor M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Devine
authors.affiliation: Head and Neck Institute, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Timothy M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Haffey
authors.affiliation: Head and Neck Institute, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Trosman
authors.affiliation: Head and Neck Institute, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Michael A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Fritz
mesh_terms: D058752:Free Tissue Flaps; D006257:Head / Q000601:surgery*; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D009333:Neck / Q000601:surgery*; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures; D012189:Retrospective Studies
keywords: Reconstructive surgery; facial plastics; free tissue transfer; perforator free flaps