A tissue oximeter OXY-2® is a device that transmits two wavelengths of near-infrared rays to a depth of 10 mm just below the sensor and detects some of the reflected scattering light in order to measure the tissue oxygen saturation ( StO2 ). The greatest advantages of the tissue oximeter are that measurement of tissue oxygen saturation is possible at any site of the local living body such as the finger, as well as the trunk and the skin flap at which StO2 is not measurable with a conventional transmission-type pulse oximeter, and that consecutive measurements can be made non-invasively due to the lack of a need for an arterial pulse and use of detection of reflected scattering light. We performed continuous 7-day monitoring after operation for 16 samples of free skin flap with the use of the tissue oximeter. Although 1 case of arterial blockage and 1 case of venous blockage occurred, we were able to treat them with re-operation based on early diagnosis. It was suggested that skin flap monitoring with the tissue oximeter is useful for the early diagnosis of circulatory deficit after an operation.
