Perforator flaps

Perforator flap surgery is a technique used in reconstructive surgery where skin and/or subcutaneous fat are removed from a distant or adjacent part of the body to reconstruct the excised part.[1] The vessels that supply blood to the flap are isolated perforator(s) derived from a deep vascular system through the underlying muscle or intermuscular septa. Some perforators can have a mixed septal and intramuscular course before reaching the skin. The name of the particular flap is retrieved from its perforator and not from the underlying muscle.[1] If there is a potential to harvest multiple perforator flaps from one vessel, the name of each flap is based on its anatomical region or muscle. For example, a perforator that only traverses through the septum to supply the underlying skin is called a septal perforator. Whereas a flap that is vascularised by a perforator traversing only through muscle to supply the underlying skin is called a muscle perforator.[1] According to the distinct origin of their vascular supply, perforators can be classified into direct and indirect perforators. Direct perforators only pierce the deep fascia, they don't traverse any other structural tissue. Indirect perforators first run through other structures before piercing the deep fascia.[1]

  1. ^ a b c d Blondeel PN, Van Landuyt KH, Monstrey SJ, et al. (October 2003). "The "Gent" consensus on perforator flap terminology: preliminary definitions". Plast. Reconstr. Surg. 112 (5): 1378–83, quiz 1383, 1516, discussion 1384–7. doi:10.1097/01.PRS.0000081071.83805.B6. PMID 14504524. S2CID 38395679.