Free tissue transfers to the upper limb

90 consecutive free tissue transfers to the upper limb have been performed in 75 patients (33 children and 42 adults) by one surgeon over a 3-year period. The average age for children was 5 years, and 25 years in adults. 17 transfers were performed as emergency or urgent procedures. The main indications were congenital and traumatic defects. Included in this series were 44 toe transfers, 28 lateral arm flaps and six functional muscle transfers. The overall success rate was 99%. The re-exploration rate was 5.6% with only one failure. There were no failures in children.