Despite meticulous microsurgical techniques, free flap failure due to postoperative vessel thrombosis cannot be completely eliminated. Postoperative pharmacological augmentation of the established blood flow is considered as a feasible solution to this problem. Prostaglandin E1 (PGE1 )has been shown to have vasodilatation and anti-thrombosis effects, so it is used by some surgeons after microsurgery to keep the patency of the anastomosed small vessels. However, PGE 1 may also causes some complications, like pleural effusion or deep vein thrombosis. Therefore, it remains uncertain whether a routine use of PGE 1 in every patient after head and neck microsurgery is justified. We aim to test the hypothesis that PGE 1 increases postoperative vessel patency rate in patients undergoing head and neck microsurgery, and yielded a comparable complication rate as the control group.
Prostaglandin E1 (PGE1 )has been shown to have vasodilatation and anti-thrombosis effects, so it is used by some surgeons after microsurgery to keep the patency of the anastomosed small vessels. However, PGE 1 may also causes some complications, like pleural effusion or deep vein thrombosis. Therefore, it remains uncertain whether a routine use of PGE 1 after head and neck microsurgery is justified. We aim to test the hypothesis that PGE 1 increases postoperative vessel patency rate in patients undergoing head and neck microsurgery, with a comparable complication rate as the control group.