In reconstructive microsurgery, it is occasionally advantageous to use long recipient or donor vessels for optimal flap inset. These long vessels are prone to kinking or torsion along their longitudinal axis from vessel distension during blood inflow and rising blood pressure. More often than arteries, the veins can also be compressed by overlying tissue sutured under tension or by developing edema. Reanastomosis can no longer be feasible or desirable for several reasons, and the elongated vessels may have to be shifted to a curved course. To avoid detrimental kinking or torsion, fibrin glue can be administered along this new vessel course in order to ensure stabilization. In 20 such cases, we successfully avoided complications when the danger of kinking, torsion, or vein compression was evident after successful anastomosis. On the basis of this experience, we recommend the use of fibrin glue in microsurgical procedures, especially for vessels in intricate geometrical locations.
(c) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.