Perfusion assessment of cutaneous flaps
Despite progressive medical and surgical as well as technical developments, no technique has yet been found that permits a uniform, simple valid and cost-effective intra-/ and postoperative flap perfusion assessment. As a result, direct clinical assessment remains the gold standard. [7, 8]
Clinical control of the grafted area should be based on the assessment of skin colour, temperature, turgor and capillary time by trained medical professionals. [9] Most trained head and neck surgeons assess flap grafts by colour, recapillarisation, scratching (and the quality of the blood) and some by flap surface temperature. [7, 10] Similarly, surgical re-exploration can act as a valid way of clinically assessing local and pedicled flaps. [11]