Craniectomy with microvascular flap reconstruction in a patient taking infliximab for vasculitis

For patients whose vasculitis is managed with biologic medications, no reports or evidence-based guidance exists regarding the perioperative management of microvascular flaps. We present a case of a 78-year-old patient with Takayasu's arteritis (TA) and diabetes mellitus who was taking infliximab and underwent wide local excision of squamous cell carcinoma, craniectomy and reconstruction with a latissimus dorsi flap. TA, an immune-mediated large cell vasculitis characterised by granuloma formation, tends to affect larger vessels and aortic branches. The typical localisation of this condition raises concerns about potentially compromised pedicle and recipient vessels (ie, superficial temporal arteries), which could hinder postoperative flap success. Discontinuation of infliximab 4 weeks before surgery and resumption 6 weeks after led to favourable results. This case addresses the gap in the literature concerning stopping and restarting biologic drugs in the perioperative setting and documents a successful course of a microvascular procedure in a patient with vasculitis.