[Fundamentals and basic principles of tissue transfer]

The advancements in tissue transfer techniques made recent years allow the reconstructive surgeon to view the whole body as a potential donor site. Now functional results, along with cosmetic results, can be considered as paramount in the thinking of the reconstructive surgeon. In the past, techniques of tissue transfer tended to be considered in ladder fashion with the surgeon applying techniques of transfer from simplest to "exotic" as opposed to considering optimal functional/cosmetic results. Now reconstructive surgeons routinely consider the "exotic" when it yields the best functional/cosmetic results. The basic that will be discussed in this chapter are designed to provide a platform from which GU reconstructive surgeon launches into more complex and imaginative procedures.