FREE-FLAP MONITORING: REVIEW AND CLINICAL APPROACH.

Microvascular free flap reconstruction is a routine option for coverage of a variety of tissue defects. Accurate monitoring in the postoperative period is a crucial part of successful flap surgery allowing early detection of vascular compromise and prompt intervention in flap salvaging. Despite that many safety procedures to assess flap viability have been developed, flap failure is consistently seen in 2-5% of free tissue transfers.