Escandón JM, Ciudad P, Mayer HF, Pencek M, Mantilla-Rivas E, Mohammad A, Langstein HN, Manrique OJ. Free flap transfer with supermicrosurgical technique for soft tissue reconstruction: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Microsurgery 2023;
43:171-184. [PMID:
35551691 DOI:
10.1002/micr.30894]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2021] [Revised: 03/16/2022] [Accepted: 04/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Supermicrosurgery is a technique that allows microsurgeons to accomplish dissections and anastomoses of vessels and nerve fascicles with diameters of ≤0.8 mm. Considering the potential benefits of this technique and limited literature synthesizing the outcomes of supermicrosurgery, the aim of this study was to summarize the available evidence of reconstructive supermicrosurgery and to estimate the success rate.
METHODS
We conducted a comprehensive search across PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and Web of Science. We included patient-based studies reporting on procedures for soft-tissue reconstruction with free flaps specifying the use of supermicrosurgery. We excluded studies reporting on lymphatic surgery, solely peripheral nerve surgery, and tissue replantation. Our primary endpoint was to calculate the flap success rate. Pooled estimates were calculated using a random-effects meta-analytic model.
RESULTS
Forty-seven studies reporting outcomes of 698 flaps were included for qualitative synthesis. Overall, 15.75% of flaps were used for head and neck, 4.4% for breast and trunk, 9.3% for upper limb, and 69.2% for lower limb reconstruction. The most used flap was the superficial circumflex iliac artery perforator flap (41.5%). The overall flap success rate was 96.6% (95%CI 95.2%-98.1%). The cumulative rate of partial flap loss was 3.84% (95%CI 1.8%-5.9%). The overall vascular complication rate resulting in complete or partial flap loss was 5.93% (95%CI 3.5%-8.3%).
CONCLUSIONS
Supermicrosurgery displays a high success rate. Further studies are necessary to explore the true potential of supermicrosurgery. This technique reformulates the boundaries of reconstructive surgery due to its extensive application.
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