Thermography Supported Color Duplex Ultrasound Accelerates ALT Perforator Imaging

The anterolateral thigh flap is a versatile and dependable perforator flap and is a popular choice in the reconstruction of various body sites. The variable perforator anatomy suggests preoperative perforator imaging to improve safety and speed of dissection. An innovative perforator imaging technique is thermography, which lately gained attention in plastic surgery.

Thirty-two healthy participants were included in this randomized study. One thigh was examined with dynamic infrared thermography and consecutively with ultrasound, while the contralateral thigh was examined with ultrasound as standalone technology.

The application of dynamic infrared thermography prior to ultrasound perforator identification significantly accelerated the ultrasound examination duration by 90 to 130 seconds. The mean duplex ultrasound examination duration correlated positively with the hotspot and perforator quantity per thigh.

The addition of thermographic perforator mapping can accelerate color duplex ultrasound anterolateral thigh perforator imaging. Furthermore, thermography supplements color duplex ultrasound with crucial information on angiosome location.