The aim of our study was to demonstrate the role of certain risk factors in reconstructive head and neck surgery with free flaps. The data taken from the charts of all patients who received free flap for head and neck reconstruction in our department between January 2001 and December 2004 were analyzed. We evaluated the association of preexisting risk factors with the onset of surgical complica...

BACKGROUND Case payment mechanisms have become the principal means of remunerating hospitals in most developed countries. Our purpose was to analyse the reimbursement for different types of tissue transfer in five European countries. METHODS We looked at common surgical options for pedicled and free flaps. The recipient site of a flap and the principal diagnosis were systematically modified a...

BACKGROUND Reconstruction of composite extremity defects or through-and-through oral defects remains challenging for surgeons. Chimeric flaps are ideal for repairing these lesions. In this article, we report the design of various chimeric groin free flaps for the reconstruction of both complex oral and extremity defects in 18 patients. METHODS Between 2010 and 2014, 18 patients with composite...

A recent article by Kaplan and Allen suggested that deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) flap breast reconstruction was less expensive than reconstruction performed with free transverse rectus abdominis musculocutaneous (TRAM) flaps. To test that hypothesis, a series of patients who had undergone unilateral breast-mound reconstruction by the first author using DIEP or free TRAM flaps betw...

The pectoralis major musculocutaneous (PMMC) flap has been a useful technique for head and neck reconstruction since its first description by Ariyan in 1979. However, techniques in microvascular surgery have since evolved and recently free tissue transfer has played an important role in head and neck reconstruction. Although we use free flaps as the first choice for head and neck reconstruction...

Objectives. To compare reconstructive techniques, operative times, duration of hospitalization, and need for subsequent flap revisions between reconstructive approaches to lateral skull base defects. Study Design. Case series with chart review. Setting. Tertiary academic referral center. Subjects. Patients (n = 31) undergoing reconstruction of composite lateral skull base defects from 2002 to 2...