Page 134 - Read Online

Hallock. Plast Aesthet Res 2019;6:29 Plastic and
DOI: 10.20517/2347-9264.2019.029 Aesthetic Research

Original Article Open Access

Dynamic infrared thermography and smartphone

thermal imaging as an adjunct for preoperative,
intraoperative, and postoperative perforator free flap

monitoring

Geoffrey G. Hallock

Division of Plastic Surgery, St. Luke’s Hospital, Sacred Heart Campus, Allentown, Pennsylvania 18103, USA.

Correspondence to: Dr. Geoffrey G. Hallock, Division of Plastic Surgery, St. Luke’s Hospital, Sacred Heart Campus, 1230 South Cedar
Crest Boulevard, Suite 306 Allentown, Pennsylvania 18103, USA. E-mail: gghallock@hotmail.com

How to cite this article: Hallock GG. Dynamic infrared thermography and smartphone thermal imaging as an adjunct for preoperative,
intraoperative, and postoperative perforator free flap monitoring. Plast Aesthet Res 2019;6:29.
http://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2347-9264.2019.029

Received: 14 Sep 2019 First Decision: 8 Nov 2019 Revised: 24 Nov 2019 Accepted: 2 Dec 2019 Published: 17 Dec 2019

Science Editor: Matthew L. Iorio Copy Editor: Jing-Wen Zhang Production Editor: Tian Zhang

Abstract

Aim: The versatile application of perforator free flaps for coverage of any extremity has been well proven. Often, a “free-
style”-like approach is used to design these flaps, as conventional imaging techniques for perforator identification may
be too expensive or unavailable. As will be demonstrated, the recent application of a thermal imaging camera using a
smartphone is a cheaper and therefore more universal means to better identify the requisite perforators upon which a
free flap can be designed and then monitored.

Methods: Smartphone thermography can be used on any patient preoperatively to identify preferable perforators
or vascular network “hot spots” within the desired donor site territory. Intraoperative management of the choice of
perforators and subsequent flap dissection can be similarly facilitated. Intermittent postoperative monitoring based on
changes of the thermal image color palette will provide a comparison that can be used to determine if perfusion across
the microanastomosis is sustained.

Results: An overview of how to use a smartphone in concert with a thermal imaging camera is outlined. Dynamic infrared
thermography represents a thermal stress necessary with a smartphone to better identify donor site “hot spots”.

© The Author(s) 2019. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use,
sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, for any purpose, even commercially, as long
as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license,
and indicate if changes were made.

www.parjournal.net