Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39931118›Full record

ArticlePlastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open2025

The Freestyle Multiperforator Island Flap: Beyond the Keystone Flap.

Oswaldo J Gómez, Daniel Alejandro Espinel Pinzón, David F Duque, Harold D Moreno, Paloma Beltrán Pachón

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Oswaldo J GómezFrom the Plastic Surgery Unit, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia.
Daniel Alejandro Espinel PinzónFrom the Plastic Surgery Unit, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia.
David F DuqueFrom the Plastic Surgery Unit, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia.
Harold D MorenoFaculty of Medicine, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia.
Paloma Beltrán PachónPlastic Surgery Unit, National University Hospital of Colombia, Bogota, Colombia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to introduce freestyle multiperforator island flaps as a technical advancement beyond keystone perforator flaps. These flaps represent a fully free-design approach, supplied by multiperforators in small subcutaneous pedicles randomly located, allowing for customized designs tailored to anatomical regions of diverse complexity. Methods: We present a retrospective cohort study of 150 patients with coverage defects, without distinction of anatomical location or age, treated between 2012 and 2021. The study assessed the clinical presentation, flap characteristics, additional procedures, and postoperative outcomes. We used the chi-square test to assess the relationship between pedicle area size and the incidence of partial or complete necrosis. Results: We performed 211 flaps on 184 defects, with a mean follow-up of 8.7 months. Tumors (30.4%) and trauma (23.3%) were the most common etiologies. Most flaps were performed on the head and neck (31%) and lower limbs (30.4%). The mean pedicle area was 33%, and the flap-to-defect size ratio was between 1:1 and 3:1 in 82% of cases. Complications occurred in 29.8% of the flaps, with only 8.1% needing surgical reintervention. The most common occurrences were dehiscence (18.5%), partial necrosis (9%), and total necrosis (1.9%). The pedicle area of the flap did not demonstrate a statistically significant relationship with the necrosis outcome ( Conclusions: Freestyle multiperforator island flaps are a safe and versatile tool with low necrosis rates, excellent aesthetic results, and unmatched cost-effectiveness.

Identifiers

PMID39931118
PMCPMC11809965

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.