Donor Site Morbidity Following Free Tissue Transfer: A Preliminary Survey

Abstract

French

J Mahoney, E Kharaillah, D Drakos. Donor site morbidity following free tissue transfer: A preliminary survey. Can J Plast Surg 1998;6(2):85-88.

Donor site morbidity is becoming an important factor in the measurement of reconstructive success following free tissue transfer. A grading system based on five criteria (cosmesis, functional loss, wound healing, iatrogenic injury and pain) has been devised to evaluate and compare different donor sites in a uniform fashion. Questionnaires were sent to microsurgeons across Canada and to a series of patients asking them to report on their experiences with donor site morbidity. Completed questionnaires from 43 patients and 29 surgeons revealed that overall, donor site morbidity is low. This study represents a retrospective survey of the donor site of various free tissue transfers and highlights potential problems of several frequently used free flaps. The radial forearm flap had the highest morbidity, especially with regard to wound healing and cosmesis. Suggestions to improve studies in this area further are made.

Keywords

Donor site Free flap Morbidity Outcome

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