Short-term augmentation of venous drainage with extra-corporeal shunt and simultaneous auto-transfusion, for salvaging a congested free flap

• Main Authors: Rahul K. Patil, Kiran Jayaprasad, Saurabh Sharma, Mohit Sharma, Jimmy Mathew
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc. 2013-09-01
• Series: Indian Journal of Plastic Surgery
• Subjects: extracorporeal drainage; external shunt; salvage of congested flaps; venous obstruction in free flap
• Online Access: http://www.thieme-connect.de/DOI/DOI?10.4103/0970-0358.122024
• ISSN: 0970-0358; 1998-376X

Adequate drainage of venous blood is the most critical part of successful free tissue transfer. We report a case of anterolateral thigh flap used for covering open communited tibial fracture. The flap was salvaged with short term augmentation of venous drainage with external shunt. The drainage was continued for six days. It was confirmed that there is no more congestion after blocking the catheter and then the drainage was discontinued on seventh day. The flap was successfully salvaged. This method has potential applications in multiple situations for successful salvage of free tissue transfer.