Impact of microsurgery skill acquisition on free flap ischaemia time and free flap outcomes

Background Microsurgical training is challenging in our current healthcare environment. There has been a paradigm shift in surgical training due to the reduced hands-on training opportunities. This is particularly true for highly specialised advanced skills such as microsurgery. Understandably, there is a reluctance to encourage trainees to perform micro-anastomosis due to the high stakes nature of free flap surgery. We aimed to compare flap ischaemia times and return to theatre between attending plastic surgeons and plastic surgery residents. Our secondary aim was to correlate flap outcomes to the grade of a surgeon performing the microsurgical anastomosis. Methods Data was collected on all free flap surgeries in a single institution over a 12-month period. Patient demographics, flap ischaemic times, return to theatre, flap outcomes and overall complications were recorded. Statistical analysis was performed using Stata 12.0. T test two group means comparison was used to compare ischemia times. Non-parametric statistics were used to evaluate flap outcome measures. A p value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results Fifty-four free flaps were performed in a single institution over a 12-month period. Attending group (n = 34) average flap ischaemia time was 70 min compared to 65 min for the resident group (n = 20), p = 0.4. There were no differences in return to theatre (p = 0.2), flap loss (p = 0.6), or overall complications (0.4). Conclusions This study demonstrates that resident performance of microsurgery does not adversely affect clinical outcomes in free flap surgery. The hands-on operative teaching of microsurgery should be encouraged amongst residents in plastic surgery. Level of evidence: Level IV, risk/prognosic study