Long-Term Outcomes of Simultaneous Skin and Bowel Flaps for Esophageal Reconstruction.

Esophageal reconstruction can be performed with skin or bowel flaps. The choice of flap remains controversial, as the long-term outcomes of skin flaps cannot always be assessed in patients with limited life expectancies due to advanced malignancy, unlike the pediatric and benign cases which have had esophageal reconstruction using bowel flaps. We report the long-term clinical and histopathological outcomes in a series of 45 cases repaired with combined skin and bowel flaps.Four patients developed symptomatic strictures after corrosive esophageal injuries were repaired with a combination of a tubed free radial forearm fasciocutaneous flap and a pedicled bowel flap. On average, 24 years had passed since uneventful initial esophageal reconstructions. Barium esophagograms were obtained in all cases and pathological examination was performed upon all surgical specimens.The cutaneous portions of the reconstructed esophagus exhibited a variety of findings on barium examination. Each of the 4 cases developed an esophagocutaneous fistula after revision; an average of 4 surgeries was required to close these fistulae. The inner surfaces of the portion of esophagus repaired with skin flaps showed extensive ulceration, polypoid lesions, and fibrosis. Pathology specimens from skin flaps showed extensive acute and chronic inflammation, microabscesses, fibrosis, and acanthosis, with depletion and degeneration of the pilosebaceous units. By contrast, adjacent parts of the esophagus repaired with bowel were widely patent with normal appearing mucosa.Our findings indicate that a bowel flap is durable with good tolerance to gastrointestinal content over long periods, whereas skin flaps often developed morphological changes and could not maintain long-term esophageal function without eventual stricture and dysphagia. We therefore recommend use of bowel flaps for esophageal reconstruction in patients with long life expectancy.

A strategic approach for DIEP flap breast reconstruction in patients with a vertical midline abdominal scar.

BACKGROUND: Deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) flaps have become broadly accepted for autologous breast reconstruction. Our aim was to analyze outcomes and describe technical strategies to improve survival when harvesting the entire DIEP flap with a midline scar. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed charts from March of 2000 to November of 2007; 186 DIEP flaps in 183 patients were used for breast reconstruction, including 18 flaps (9.68%) in 17 patients with previous lower midline abdomen scars. The patients were classified into 3 groups. Group 1: hemi-DIEP flaps (n=5);. group 2: DIEP flaps that included tissue crossing the midline (n=10); and group 3: entire-DIEP flaps (with zone IV) (n=3). RESULTS: Reexploration for venous congestion and partial flap loss were encountered in 1 patient in group 1. Average flap-used ratio was 68.75±8.95% in group 2. Three flaps developed partial loss and underwent subsequent debridement. In group 3, entire DIEP flaps were designed with higher, bilateral superficial inferior epigastric venous drainages and intraflap pedicle-to-pedicle anastomosis. The first 2 cases underwent partial flap loss and debridement. The third case of bipedicle anastomosis achieved complete flap survival. CONCLUSIONS: The hemi-DIEP flap is a safer method for the patient with a lower abdominal midline scar but limits the reconstructive volume. Carefully evaluating the perfusion across midline scar intraoperatively is crucial for deciding how much contralateral tissue should be discarded. Double pedicles anastomosis is an assurance for using entire DIEP flap with lower midline scar.