Alexis L. Parcells

Merkel Cell Carcinoma of the Hand

ASSH Disclaimer: The material presented in this CME activity is mad ASSH for educational purposes only. This material is not intended to methods or the best procedures appropriate for the medical situation rather it is intended to present an approach, view, statement, or opinion may be helpful, or of interest, to other practitioners. Examinees agree to medical education activity, sponsored by the ASSH, with full knowledge a they waive any claim they may have against the ASSH for reliance o presented. The approval of the US Food and Drug Administration is requ and drugs that are considered experimental. Instrumentation systems dis

Reverse Sural Artery Flap

The reverse sural artery flap is utilized to reconstruct defects in the distal third of the lower leg, ankle, and heel. This flap is based on perforators of the peroneal artery system. The flap consists of superficial and deep fascia, the sural nerve, lesser saphenous vein, and superficial sural artery. A skin island may be demarcated at any point along the distal lateral leg containing the lesser saphenous vein and sural nerve on its central axis. The distal dissection is located 5 cm above the lateral malleolus to preserve the peroneal artery.

Maintaining a Healthy Degree of Suspicion: Utilizing SPY Angiography in High-risk Patients

1 Sir: L indocyanine green angiography (most often using the SPY Elite System [LifeCell Corp., Branchburg, N.J.]) is a recent technology that is frequently described in the literature as a method useful for assessing flap viability and preventing flap failure. Although most of the attention on angiography surrounds breast reconstruction, fewer studies have focused on facial reconstruction and even fewer on high-risk patients. A 68-year-old white woman underwent a paramedian forehead flap after excision of a basal cell carcinoma on her nose. Because of her extensive smoking history, we used SPY angiography 3 weeks after the initial procedure. There was evidence of minimal perfusion of the central portion of our flap, and as such, we sectioned half of it for secondary delay (Fig. 1). Two weeks later, we again performed SPY angiography that demonstrated excellent inflow from her nasal bed, and her pedicle was divided (Fig. 2). Existing studies on high-risk facial reconstruction patients use SPY angiography to safely attempt reducing the wait time before pedicle division. This is particularly important with paramedian forehead flaps as the externalized pedicle can cause significant distress to the patient by preventing eyeglass use, obstructing vision, and affecting personal appearance.1 Christensen et al2 described a case involving a 65-year-old female smoker with history of hepatitis C and polycythemia vera in which pedicle division of a paramedian flap was successfully performed at 3 weeks after angiography showed good perfusion. They successfully implanted a flap that otherwise would have been delayed had clinical judgment, based on visual examination of the flap after pedicle occlusion and pinprick, been the sole determinant. Lee et al3 used angiography to map flap perfusion over time and also found it useful in turning a subjective decision, based on a surgeon’s clinical judgment and experience, to proceed with pedicle division in smokers into an objective one. Although most studies have focused on angiography as a supplement to clinical judgment in proceeding with pedicle division, our report records the first instance in the literature in which SPY angiography led to delay of pedicle