PDF study guide · Volume V

Free Flap Reconstruction Volume V The Postoperative Flap

Volume V carries the reconstruction beyond the operating room, from the first handoff through late survivorship. It teaches residents to establish a flap baseline, perform a reproducible examination, interpret arterial insufficiency versus venous congestion, and escalate a concerning change while considering the entire construct and airway. Subsequent sections address return-to-OR reasoning, salivary leak and fistula, carotid-risk situations, donor-site complications, nutrition, decannulation, swallowing rehabilitation, and late pain or dysfunction. The staged timeline and tables make clear that the dominant threats change from vascular compromise to healing, function, and oncologic surveillance. It completes the series: earlier volumes select and build the reconstruction; this volume focuses on protecting, salvaging, and helping the patient use it.