Angiographic findings before and after transplantation of split myocutaneous flaps

Prerequisite for successful split-skin flap transplants of myocutaneous flaps is the presence of adequate adjacent afferent and efferent vessels, thus making an arteriography of the receiving region mandatory during surgery preparation. In 20 or 29 patients in whom a split myocutaneous flap was transplanted to the lower leg, angiography revealed 22 pathological or other therapy-relevant findings. Besides the afferent vessels it is basically necessary to visualise the peripheral efferent pathways in order to prevent that vascular anastomosis to the split-skin flap obstructs the blood supply of the leg. (orig.)