Assessment of functional morbidity in the radial forearm free flap donor site
M. T. Brown, M. L. Cheney, R. L. Gliklich, L. R. Sheffler and M. A. Varvares
Department of Otolaryngology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston, USA.
OBJECTIVE: To quantitate the functional morbidity to the hand and wrist due
to the harvest of a radial forearm free fasciocutaneous flap. DESIGN:
Case-control study with age-matched control groups. SETTING: Tertiary care
hospital. PATIENTS: A consecutive sample of 21 patients who underwent a
radial forearm free flap reconstruction of the head and neck from June 1993
to February 1995 constitute the experimental group. Thirteen of those
eligible patients participated in the study. Two control groups were
identified. One cohort included 13 patients with head and neck cancer who
underwent free tissue transfer other than the radial forearm flap. The
other cohort consisted of 16 subjects who were healthy volunteers, patients
without cancer, or patients who were considered to be cured of cancer.
OUTCOME-MEASURES: Wrist range of motion, grip strength, and sensation in
the radial, ulnar, and median nerve distributions on the hands,
bilaterally. RESULTS: No significant differences (P > .05) were detected
between the groups for the modalities that were tested. CONCLUSION: There
is minimal functional morbidity associated with the harvest of the radial
forearm free fasciocutaneous flap.
