The Utility of Computed Tomographic Angiography in Preoperative Planning of Deep Inferior Epigastric Artery Flap

Abstract

Background: Abdominal donor site flaps are the standard for autologous breast reconstruction. Because of extreme variations of abdominal wall vascular anatomy between individuals, and even two hemi-abdomens of the same person, it seems valuable to use a sensitive method for preoperative evaluation. In this study, we evaluated the effects of preoperative abdominal wall computed tomographic angiography (CTA) in women who had undergone delayed unilateral breast reconstruction with abdominal perforator flaps.