COMPLICATIONS OF FREE-FLAP DONOR SITES

A variety of free tissue transfers are available for microsurgical rec onstruction. To date little attention has been placed on the donor sit e, both from the potential for acute complications as well as long-ter m morbidity, In this review the various types of tissue transfers in d ifferent anatomical locations have been assessed for potential problem s at the donor site. An assessment system is proposed to better evalua te this problem as well as to allow comparison of the different donor sites. (C) 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.