Indocyanine green fluorescence in the assessment of the quality of the pedicled intercostal muscle flap: a pilot study.

Objectives: The pedicled intercostal muscle flap (IMF) is a high quality vascularized tissue commonly used to buttress the bronchial stump after pneumonectomy or bronchial anastomosis after sleeve lobectomy in order to prevent bronchopleural fistula formation. The evaluation of the viability of the muscle flap is difficult. The aim of this study was the assessment of the application of indicyanine green fluorescence for the evaluation of IMF perfusion.