Abdominal or forearm V-Y? Comparison of radial forearm free flap donor site following skin graft reconstruction - what do patients think?

Abstract

Introduction: The radial forearm free flap remains the workhorse flap for oral and oropharyngeal reconstruction and has stood the test of time. Donor site morbidity can be a problem and multiple methods of wound closure have been described. The easiest and most reliable method is skin grafting. Two networks within our training regions use two different full thickness skin graft donor sites to close the free flap donor area. We set out to measure clinicians and patient's view of these methods.