Microvascular Free Flap Tissue Transfer

Also known as "free flaps", microvascular free tissue transfer refers to the highly specialized skill in which tissue (such as skin, muscle, bone, or a combination) is taken from one area of the body to reconstruct another. This is essentially a transplant, but from the patients own body. The outcome of the process is dependent upon the successful connection of the small blood vessels of the tissue to recipient vessels in the neck, to provide a healthy blood supply to the transplanted tissue. At The Johns Hopkins Hospital, our Maryland free flap tissue transfer surgeons perform the highest volume of these procedures for cancer reconstruction in the region.