Outcomes of free flap reconstructions with near‐infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) monitoring: A systematic review

Abstract

Free flap failure or vascular compromise remains a dreadful complication of microvascular free tissue transfer. Near‐infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a novel technique for free flap monitoring that has the propensity for early detection of vascular compromise when compared to the current gold standard, clinical monitoring (CM). The objective of this review is to evaluate the efficacy of a NIRS system in the postoperative monitoring of free flaps and its effect on flap salvage.