TY - JOUR
T1 - Defining Quality in Head and Neck Reconstruction
AU - Vila, Peter M.
AU - Rich, Jason T.
AU - Desai, Shaun C.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2017, © American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery Foundation 2017.
PY - 2017/10/1
Y1 - 2017/10/1
N2 - Microvascular free flap reconstruction has now become the standard of care in the reconstruction of selected head and neck defects. Although uncommon, flap failure is a catastrophic event that results in significant patient morbidity, extended length of hospitalization, and increased cost. However, there is currently no gold standard for measuring the quality of a reconstructive center. Structure and process outcomes have recently been developed, but outcome measures are still lacking. Areas for future research include preoperative nutrition, preoperative flap planning, intraoperative fluid management, appropriate thromboembolism prophylaxis, consistent perioperative antibiotic regimens, skilled ancillary staff, and clear outcome measures for performance measurement.
AB - Microvascular free flap reconstruction has now become the standard of care in the reconstruction of selected head and neck defects. Although uncommon, flap failure is a catastrophic event that results in significant patient morbidity, extended length of hospitalization, and increased cost. However, there is currently no gold standard for measuring the quality of a reconstructive center. Structure and process outcomes have recently been developed, but outcome measures are still lacking. Areas for future research include preoperative nutrition, preoperative flap planning, intraoperative fluid management, appropriate thromboembolism prophylaxis, consistent perioperative antibiotic regimens, skilled ancillary staff, and clear outcome measures for performance measurement.
KW - free tissue flaps
KW - microvascular surgery
KW - performance measure
KW - quality indicator
KW - reconstructive surgery
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U2 - 10.1177/0194599817703937
DO - 10.1177/0194599817703937
M3 - Comment/debate
C2 - 28419812
AN - SCOPUS:85030625026
SN - 0194-5998
VL - 157
SP - 545
EP - 547
JO - Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery (United States)
JF - Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery (United States)
IS - 4
ER -