Continuous and Real-Time Blood Perfusion Monitoring in Prefabricated Flaps

Peter K. M. Maitz; Monica B. Khot; Horacio F. Mayer; Gregory T. Martin; Julian J. Pribaz; H. Frederick Bowman; Dennis P. Orgill

doi:10.1055/s-2004-818048

Journal of Reconstructive Microsurgery, Table of Contents

J Reconstr Microsurg 2004; 20(1): 35-41
DOI: 10.1055/s-2004-818048

Continuous and Real-Time Blood Perfusion Monitoring in Prefabricated Flaps

Peter K.M Maitz¹ , Monica B. Khot³ ^, ⁴ , Horacio F. Mayer² , Gregory T. Martin³ , Julian J. Pribaz² , H. Frederick Bowman³ , Dennis P. Orgill²

¹Concord Hospital, University of Sydney, Concord NSW, Australia
²Tissue Engineering Laboratory, Division of Plastic Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
³Harvard-MIT Biomedical Engineering Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
⁴Indiana Heart Physicians, Indianapolis, IN

Abstract

The Thermal Diffusion Probe (TDP) System allows continuous real-time measurement of tissue perfusion in flaps. The authors used a TDP with two thermistors, one active, the other passive, embedded in a 0.9-mm diameter catheter to measure continuous tissue perfusion in rabbit epigastric flaps. The distal thermistor is heated to 2° C above the tissue baseline temperature. The power required to maintain this temperature difference is mathematically related to the tissue perfusion in the volume surrounding the probe tip.

Central and peripheral TDPs were placed. The TDP effectiveness in detecting and measuring daily tissue perfusion in buried epigastric flaps was tested. Contralateral epigastric pedicles were transposed into the flaps prior to ligation of the original pedicle. Flaps with transposed pedicles showed a progressive and significant increase in tissue perfusion during the initial 3 weeks of the experiment, compared to flaps without the pedicle transfer.

The TDP System is a useful experimental method for the continuous and real-time quantification of flap perfusion and may be helpful in making clinical decisions about prefabricated flap transfer.

KEYWORDS

Thermal Diffusion Probe - blood perfusion monitoring - prefabricated flaps

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References

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Dennis P OrgillM.D. Ph.D.

Division of Plastic Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital

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Boston, MA 02115