Microsurgical head and neck reconstruction in patients with coronary artery disease: A perioperative assessment algorithm

Background: With the rising number of patients in advanced age receiving microsurgical procedures, coronary artery disease (CAD) and its challenging management is of increasing importance. Evidence based data concerning morbidity and mortality are rare. We present our experiences with this highly selected patient population and propose a preoperative assessment algorithm.

Patients and methods: Between January 2006 and May 2016, a total of 57 patients with CAD received 58 free flaps. Median age of our patients was 64 years (interquartile range 57.5-70.0). Squamous cell carcinoma was the reason for reconstruction in all cases. Defect of the buccal, gum, tongue, lip, trigone, palatal, and hypopharyngeal regions were reconstructed. Patient characteristics and comorbidities were recorded. We especially focused on the preoperative cardiac assessment and treatment of patients who were scheduled for microsurgical free tissue transfer such as medical history, cardiac risk assessment, and further cardiac testing such as Doppler-echocardiography and myocardial perfusion assessment. Intraoperative course as well as postoperative morbidity and mortality was described.

Results: About 54.4% of the selected cohort received cardiac catheterization due to a clinical preoperative cardiac assessment performed individually by the cardiologist on duty. In total, 52 fasciocutaneous anterolateral thigh flaps, four osteocutaneous fibula flaps, and two radial forearm flaps were performed. The flap survival rate was 96.6%. The overall surgical complication rate was 28.1% (16 patients), mostly due to wound infections (seven cases) and partial flap necrosis (four cases). Three patients died, resulting in a mortality rate of 5.2%.

Conclusion: CAD patients receiving head and neck microsurgical reconstructions are still at high risk for adverse consequences due to surgery. The microsurgical community is requested to share the experience of those cases in order to develop reliable and evidence based statements of the perioperative risks and prognosis for these patients. We additionally introduce a standardized perioperative cardiac assessment and treatment algorithm for head and neck surgery patients with CAD.