RECIPIENT VESSELS IN HEAD AND NECK MICROSURGERY - RADIATION EFFECT AND VESSEL ACCESS

Historical cohort analysis compared free-flap survival rates in 226 ir radiated and 108 nonirradiated head and neck reconstructions. The fail ure rate for the irradiated flaps (3.5 percent) did not differ signifi cantly from that for the nonirradiated group (2.9 percent). A case-con trol study of the failed irradiated flaps revealed infection and lag t ime between radiotherapy and surgery as the only factors significantly associated with free flap failure. Salvage techniques (vein grafting, cephalic transposition, and Corlett looping for recruiting recipient vessels into radically ablated head and neck beds are reviewed.