Influence of preoperative imaging on fibula free flap harvesting

Abstract Introduction The fibula free flap (FFF) is the gold standard for the reconstruction of large maxillofacial defects. Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) seems to supersede digital subtraction angiography (DSA) as the reference in preoperative evaluation, being non-invasive and having equivalent diagnostic results. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of preoperative MRA versus DSA on the viability of FFF and its success rate. Material and methods A total of 216 patients, who underwent mandibular or maxillary FFF reconstruction from January 1995 to January 2011, were retrospectively included in the study. Of them, 101 patients underwent preoperative DSA and 115 underwent MRA. Recorded criteria were as follows: age, sex, tobacco consumption, defect etiology, preoperative vascular assessment, donor-site choice and flap failure. The DSA group was compared to the MRA group. Results The harvested side was switched in 15.7% of cases with preoperative MRA versus 4% with DSA. Our success rate was higher (96.1%) with MRA than with DSA (88.1%) ( P P  = 0.004) were diagnosed through MRA. MRA and DSA showed similar results in anatomical variation detection. Conclusion MRA is less invasive and more effective in atherosclerosis detection than DSA. Therefore, donor-site switching was more frequent in the MRA group, which led to a better success rate. MRA should replace DSA as the reference in preoperative assessment.