Functional and esthetic assessment of radial forearm flap donor site repaired with split thickness skin graft

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the long-term functional and esthetic outcomes of radial forearm flap (RFF) donor site repaired with split thickness skin graft (STSG). Nineteen patients underwent surgical reconstruction of oro-facial defects by the use of RFF and their donor sites were reconstructed with STSG. The patients were followed up at least for 12 months postoperatively and the left hand was the non-dominant hand in all of them. Objective methods including pinch strength, grip strength, range of motion, current perception threshold (CPT) and two-point discrimination, and subjective methods including patients interview, visual analogue score (VAS) about function, sensitivity, pain and color match, were collectively employed for donor site assessment. Our data revealed some degree of reduction in motor function and sensation compared to the non-donor hand. The difference of pinch strength means was 9.81% and of the grip strength was 12.6%. The difference of wrist flexion means was 17.6% and of wrist extension was 13.4%. However, none of the patients had functional defects of forearm supination and pronation, wrist ulnar deviation or wrist radial deviation. Subjective evaluation showed that the donor site repaired with STSG was well accepted by the patients particularly from a functional point of view. These results demonstrate that STSG represents a favorable choice for RFF donor site repair.