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Variables affecting postoperative tissue perfusion monitoring in free flap breast reconstruction
Author(s) -
Ozturk Cemile Nurdan,
Ozturk Can,
Ledinh Wayne,
Bozkurt Mehmet,
Schwarz Graham,
O'Rourke Colin,
Djohan Risal
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
microsurgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.031
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1098-2752
pISSN - 0738-1085
DOI - 10.1002/micr.22276
Subject(s) - medicine , breast reconstruction , oxygen saturation , free flap , perfusion , blood pressure , surgery , anesthesia , oxygen , cardiology , breast cancer , chemistry , organic chemistry , cancer
Postoperative flap monitoring is a key component for successful free tissue transfer. Tissue oxygen saturation measurement (TOx) with near‐infrared spectrophotometry (NIRS) is a method used for this purpose. The aim of this study was to identify external variables that can affect TOx. Patients who had breast reconstruction with free flaps were monitored prospectively and intra‐operative details were recorded. Flap TOx was recorded with NIRS pre‐extubation, postextubation, and then every four hours for 36 hours. At each of these time points, blood oxygen saturation (SO2), amount of supplemental oxygen, and blood pressure were recorded. Thirty flaps were monitored. Initially, a significant trend over time was detected such that for every increase of 24 hours, TOx decreased on average by 2.1% ( P = 0.025). However, when accounting for SO2 levels, this decrease was no longer significant ( P = 0.19). An increase by 1% in SO2 produced an increase in TOx reading of 0.36 ( P = 0.007). The amount of supplemental O2, systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure did not have a significant impact on TOx ( P > 0.05). The TOx values were highest in the free TRAM flaps and were lower in decreasing order in the muscle‐sparing TRAM, DIEP, and SIEA flaps ( P > 0.05). The TOx values did not significantly correlate with vessel size, perforator number, or perforator row. Postoperative flap TOx was found to correlate with SO2 and was not significantly dependent on blood pressure, supplemental O2, or surgical variables. Careful interpretation of oximetry values is essential in decision making during postoperative flap monitoring. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microsurgery 35:123–128, 2015.