Isometric contractile function was studied after recovery in free, vascularized muscle transfer subjected to graded periods of intraoperative ischemia. Fifteen dogs had orthotopic replantation of their left gracilis muscles, with intraoperative ischemia times grouped as 0 (n = 3), 1 to 2 (n = 3), 2 to 3 (n = 4), or 3 to 4 (n = 5) hours. After recovery (mean 61.8 weeks), isometric twitch and tetanic tension and fatigue measurements were made in the replants and in the contralateral, control gracilis. On the average, replants were found to produce significantly less twitch (0.32 +/- 0.13 versus 0.49 +/- 0.24 N/g) and 75 Hz tetanic tension (2.2 +/- 0.9 versus 3.4 +/- 0.5 N/g) than controls. However, in several individual replants, 100% of control maximal tetanic tension was observed. Intraoperative ischemia time of up to 4 hours was not correlated with functional return. It is concluded that (1) full recovery is possible after free muscle transfer; (2) intraoperative ischemia, if less than 4 hours long, is not the primary determinant of functional recovery; and (3) factors besides intraoperative ischemia must be operative in producing the variability in recovery seen in this setting.