Micro Vascular Reconstruction

After a tumor is surgically removed, a flap is placed inside the body to replace the opening where cancer once resided. Flaps can be from a local, locoregional, or from distant site.  By using a microvascular reconstruction procedure, flaps from a distant site are rejoined with the recipient site and the native artery and vein. This is accomplished by moving tissue from your body’s donor site to the region where the cancer was present (recipient site). It is possible to surgically remove a tumor and reconstruct the skin, bone, and oral cavity lining.

 

The artery and vein from the donor are joined with those from the recipient using a microscope. The forearm (radial artery forearm), leg (fibula free flap), and thigh (anterolateral thigh flap) are the most popular areas to take a free flap. They are utilized most frequently in sarcomas of the upper and lower limbs, the head and neck, and the breast.

 

Forearm and thigh soft tissue and leg bone were used in the reconstruction. Free flap fills in empty space and supports cosmesis, function, and integrity.