BACKGROUND: Despite its widespread use, there is no consensus on the postoperative management in patients undergoing free flap reconstructions. We report the largest study comparing flap outcomes, morbidity, and cost in patients with head and neck cancer free flaps who recovered in the intensive care unit (ICU) versus a "specialty floor" setting. METHODS: This was a retrospective review of patients undergoing free flap surgery for head and neck defects over a 4-year period. Patients before a certain date went to the ICU for immediate postoperative care and after to a non-ICU setting. Postoperative medical and surgical complications and hospital charges were analyzed. RESULTS: Patients in the ICU group had a longer length of stay (LOS) and incurred greater hospital costs than the patients in the non-ICU setting. There was no difference in the flap failure rate between the 2 groups. CONCLUSION: Consideration should be given to a floor-based postoperative management regimen for this patient population.
BACKGROUND: Despite its widespread use, there is no consensus on the postoperative management in patients undergoing free flap reconstructions. We report the largest study comparing flap outcomes, morbidity, and cost in patients with head and neck cancer free flaps who recovered in the intensive care unit (ICU) versus a "specialty floor" setting. METHODS: This was a retrospective review of patients undergoing free flap surgery for head and neck defects over a 4-year period. Patients before a certain date went to the ICU for immediate postoperative care and after to a non-ICU setting. Postoperative medical and surgical complications and hospital charges were analyzed. RESULTS:Patients in the ICU group had a longer length of stay (LOS) and incurred greater hospital costs than the patients in the non-ICU setting. There was no difference in the flap failure rate between the 2 groups. CONCLUSION: Consideration should be given to a floor-based postoperative management regimen for this patient population.
Authors: Azeem S Kaka; Songzhu Zhao; Enver Ozer; Amit Agrawal; Stephen Kang; James Rocco; Ricardo Carrau; Theodoros Teknos; John D Clapp; Harrison Weed; Matthew O Old Journal: JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg Date: 2017-12-01 Impact factor: 6.223
Authors: Urjeet A Patel; David Hernandez; Yelizaveta Shnayder; Mark K Wax; Matthew M Hanasono; Joshua Hornig; Tamer A Ghanem; Matthew Old; Ryan S Jackson; Levi G Ledgerwood; Patrik Pipkorn; Lawrence Lin; Adrian Ong; Joshua B Greene; James Bekeny; Yin Yiu; Salem Noureldine; David X Li; Joel Fontanarosa; Evan Greenbaum; Jeremy D Richmon Journal: JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg Date: 2017-08-01 Impact factor: 6.223
Authors: Jonathan L Hatch; Michael J Bauschard; Shaun A Nguyen; Paul R Lambert; Ted A Meyer; Theodore R McRackan Journal: Otol Neurotol Date: 2018-04 Impact factor: 2.311
Authors: Jaron Densky; Antoine Eskander; Stephen Kang; Jon Chan; Ben Tweel; Jigar Sitapara; Enver Ozer; Amit Agrawal; Ricardo Carrau; James Rocco; Ted N Teknos; Matthew Old Journal: JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg Date: 2019-03-01 Impact factor: 6.223
Authors: Charles A Riley; Blair M Barton; Claire M Lawlor; David Z Cai; Phoebe E Riley; Edward D McCoul; Christian P Hasney; Brian A Moore Journal: OTO Open Date: 2017-01-18