EARLY POSTOPERATIVE BRACHYTHERAPY FOLLOWING FREE-FLAP RECONSTRUCTION

Brachytherapy delivered within the early postoperative period has been associated with delayed wound healing and wound breakdown. The object ive of this study was to determine whether reconstruction with a micro vascular free flap reduced the incidence of wound breakdown in the pre sence of early postoperative brachytherapy following wide excision of soft tissue sarcomas and head and neck carcinomas. Ten patients with m alignant tumours underwent wide excision and free flap reconstruction. Brachytherapy was administered using Iridium-192 wires in the early p ostoperative period via tubes inserted intra-operatively. In 9 of the 10 patients the wounds healed uneventfully, demonstrating that brachyt herapy can be delivered in the early postoperative period following fr ee flap reconstruction without an increase in the frequency of wound b reakdown.