Continuous local intravenous heparin infusion after re-exploration for venous congestion in free-flap breast reconstruction: A case series

Kazuyuki Kubo; Miho Kirita; Atsumori Hamahata; Hiroyuki Sakurai

doi:10.1002/ccr3.6858

Continuous local intravenous heparin infusion after re-exploration for venous congestion in free-flap breast reconstruction: A case series

Clin Case Rep. 2023 Mar 19;11(3):e6858. doi: 10.1002/ccr3.6858. eCollection 2023 Mar.

Authors

Kazuyuki Kubo^{1

2}, Miho Kirita², Atsumori Hamahata², Hiroyuki Sakurai³

Affiliations

¹ Division of Breast Surgery Saitama Cancer Center Saitama Japan.
² Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Saitama Cancer Center Saitama Japan.
³ Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Tokyo Women's Medical University Tokyo Japan.

Abstract

We demonstrated local intravenous heparin infusion to salvage flaps after re-exploration for postoperative venous congestion after free-flap breast reconstruction. All flaps were salvaged using local intravenous heparin infusion without major complications. Local intravenous heparin infusion is an effective and safe procedure.

Keywords: breast reconstruction; flap salvage; free flap; heparin infusion; venous congestion.

Publication types

Case Reports