Introduction:
- Flap surgery is a technique in plastic and reconstructive surgery where any type of tissue is lifted from a donor site and moved to a recipient site with an intact blood supply
- This is different from a graft, which does not have an intact blood supply and therefore relies on growth of new blood vessels.
Flaps and their vessels
|
Flap |
Vessel |
|
Pectoralis major myocutaneous (PMMC) flap |
Pectoral branch of thoracoacromial artery |
|
Deltopectoral flap |
2nd to 4th perforator braches of internal mammary artery |
|
Abbe-Estlander flap |
Labial vessels |
|
Transverse rectus abdominis myocutaneous (TRAM) flap |
Superior epigastric vessels |
|
Supercharged TRAM flap |
(Superior + Inferior) epigastric vessels |
|
Latissimus dorsi (LD) flap |
Thoracodorsal artery |
|
DIEP (Deep inferior epigastric perforators) flap |
Deep inferior epigastric artery |
|
Free fibular flap |
Peroneal vessels |
MCQs:
- TRAM is the MC flap used for breast reconstruction
- DIEP is the BEST flap used for breast reconstruction
- PMMC is the MC flap used in head & neck reconstruction
- Free fibular flap is the BEST flap for mandibular reconstruction and Andy Gump deformity.