Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine, Vol 14, Issue 4 263-266, Copyright © 1995 by American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine
Preoperative identification of perforating vessels to the skin by color duplex imaging
G. G. Hallock, C. L. Brown and M. J. DeSantis
Division of Plastic Surgery, Lehigh Valley Hospital, Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA.
Recent improvements in high-frequency linear array transducers with color
duplex imaging permit the precise identification and estimation of the
caliber of minute perforating vessels to the skin as small as 0.5 mm. An
obvious corollary role would be the accurate preoperative delineation of
the vascular anatomy of a skin flap, which could be essential to ensure its
viability. This technology was then applied to map the blood supply to skin
flaps in eight patients, which was subsequently verified at the time of
their actual surgical dissection. Because anomalies of the skin circulation
are not uncommon, this extended capability for color duplex imaging can
facilitate a more optimal design of skin flaps to better ensure their
chance for survival by the inclusion of appropriate nutritive blood
vessels.
