BACKGROUND Leeches are a well-recognized treatment for congested tissue. This study reviewed the efficacy of leech therapy for salvage of venous congested flaps and congested replanted or revascularized hand digits over a 2-year period. METHODS All patients treated with leeches between 1 Oct 2010 and 30 Sep 2012 (two years) at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, UK were included in the stud...

BACKGROUND Early identification of failing free flaps may allow for potential intervention and flap salvage. The predictive ability of flap temperature monitoring has been previously questioned. The present study investigated the ability of an infrared surface temperature monitoring device to detect trends in flap temperature and correlation with anastomotic thrombosis and flap failure. METHO...

In the 1990s, skin island flaps supplied by the vascular axis of sensitive superficial nerves, like the sural and saphenous nerves, were introduced. Flaps supplied by the superficial peroneal nerve accessory artery (SPNAA), however, are still not commonly used. The aim of this study is to understand the anatomical structure of the SPNAA and its perforators in the anterior intermuscular septum, ...

The fingertip skin defect is a common hand injury often accompanied by tendon or bone exposure, and is normally treated with flaps. The aim of this study was to evaluate the functional sensory recovery of random-pattern abdominal skin flap in the repair of fingertip cutaneous deficiency. A total of 23 patients, aged between 18 and 50 years (mean age, 31 years) with fingertip cutaneous deficienc...

Surgical flaps are frequently affected by ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. Calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) and stromal cell-derived factor-1α (SDF-1α) are closely associated with myocardial I/R injury. This study was performed to evaluate the feasibility of applying SDF-1α to counteract CaSR activation-mediated I/R injury in ischemic free flaps. Free flaps that underwent ischemia for 3 h were...

The deep venous system of the upper and lower extremities was injected with a lead oxide mixture in 2 fresh human cadavers, dissected, radiographed and the sites of the venous valves located. These studies confirmed that the macrovenous connections between the venae comitantes of the distributing arteries were insufficient in number to bypass the venous valves in conventional, distally based re...

BACKGROUND The scapula osteocutaneous free flap is frequently used to reconstruct complex head and neck defects given its tissue versatility. Because of minimal atherosclerotic changes in its vascular pedicle, this flap also may be used as a second choice when other osseous flaps are not available because of vascular disease at a preferred donor site. METHODS We performed a retrospective char...

PURPOSE To describe various types of anterior capsular tears and an early diagnostic, flap motility, as a sign of posterior capsular rupture following posterior extension of radial tears. DESIGN This was a prospective study carried out in 4,331 eyes that underwent phacoemulsification in a private practice setting from April 2015 to February 2016. Twenty six consecutive cases of anterior capsu...

In arterialized venous flaps (AVFs) the venous network is used to revascularize the flap. While the feasibility of AVFs in soft tissues has been reported there is no study on osseous AVFs. In this study we aim to assess the flap survival of osseous AVFs in a pig model. Medial femoral condyle flaps were elevated in 18 pigs. Three groups were created: AVF (n = 6), conventional arterial flap (cAF,...

BACKGROUND Perforator flaps are well established, and their usefulness as freestyle island flaps is recognized. The whereabouts of vascular perforators and classification of perforator flaps in the face are a debated subject, despite several anatomical studies showing similar consistency. In our experience using freestyle facial perforator flaps, we have located areas where perforators are cons...