The Utility of Computed Tomographic Angiography in Preoperative Planning of Deep Inferior Epigastric Artery Flap

authors:

avatar Parisa Aziminezhadan 1 , * , avatar Christophe Lepage 2 , avatar Frederic pigneur 3 , avatar Laurent Lantieri 2

Department of surgery, Henri Mondor General Hospital, Creteil, France
Department of plastic reconstructive surgery, Henri Mondor General Hospital, Creteil, France
Department of radiology, Henri Mondor General Hospital, Creteil, France
Reports of Radiotherapy and Oncology: Vol.1, issue 3; 93-96
published online: December 01, 2013
article type: Research Article
received: October 03, 2013
accepted: November 01, 2013

how to cite: Aziminezhadan P, Lepage C, pigneur F, Lantieri L. The Utility of Computed Tomographic Angiography in Preoperative Planning of Deep Inferior Epigastric Artery Flap. Rep Radiother Oncol. 2013;1(3):e2363. 

Abstract

Background: Abdominal donor site flaps are the standard for autologous breast reconstruction. Because of extreme variations of abdominal wall vascular anatomy between individuals, and even two hemi-abdomens of the same person, it seems valuable to use a sensitive method for preoperative evaluation. In this study, we evaluated the effects of preoperative abdominal wall computed tomographic angiography (CTA) in women who had undergone delayed unilateral breast reconstruction with abdominal perforator flaps.
Methods: Between October 2007 and June 2008, 24 women with breast cancer were admitted to Henri Mondor General Hospital, Creteil, France, for breast reconstruction. We used CTA to identify the perforator vessels for dissection and compared the results with other previously used techniques.
Results: There was an absolute correlation between the radiological information and intraoperative findings. An average of one hour was saved in delayed unilateral breast reconstruction with deep inferior epigastric artery perforator flap by using CTA preoperatively.
Conclusion: Computed tomographic angiography provides valuable preoperative information in identification of the most suitable perforator, and its use before abdominal flaps breast reconstructions could be recommended.

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