Abstract
In cases in which it is necessary to place another flap in an area adjacent to a previously transferred flap, it might be possible to elevate a perforator flap from the previous flap. When planning and elevating such perforator flaps it is very useful to identify and assess the quality of perforator vessels using color Doppler ultrasound. When examining the perforators in a flap using ultrasound, we occasionally find that the blood flow velocity and diameter of such vessels increase over a few months. When we encounter cases in which it is necessary to elevate a flap adjacent to a previous flap, we always consider elevating a perforator flap from the previous flap. In this report, four perforator flaps that were elevated from previous flaps are presented. The flaps were elevated at 9 to 18 months after the previous flap surgery and survived completely, which was aided by the use of color Doppler ultrasound before and during the operation.
