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Assessment of Thoracodorsal Artery Perforators of Adults: A Comparative Study Between Hand-Held Doppler and Colour Doppler Ultrasound
Corresponding Author(s) : 1Joshua D. Choji
Journal of Health Sciences and Practice,
Vol. 1 No. 3 (2023): The Journal of Health Sciences and Practice (JHSP)
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Background: The thoracodorsal artery perforator flap has emerged as a versatile workhorse flap for reconstruction. The popular assessment tools for the assessment of perforators are the Hand-Held Doppler (HHD) and colour Doppler ultrasound (CDU). HHD has gained an important place as a diagnostic tool in the field of perforator flaps because of its ease of use, low cost and availability. This study aimed at comparing the HHD and CDU in the assessment of the number of thoracodorsal artery perforators.
Methodology: This was a comparative cross-sectional study, two scanning modalities were used to assess the thoracodorsal artery perforators in the same group of patients that were selected by a consecutive sampling method. The Plastic Surgeon assessed the perforators using the HHD, with a re-evaluation of the same locations by a Consultant Radiologist using the CDU. The assessment was on both sides for those who met the inclusion criteria. Thus, the total number of lateral thoracic areas assessed was 140. The data generated was analysed using the statistical package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20, and statistical significance was determined using a dependent sample t-test and p-value of <0.05 was considered significant.
Results: Seventy subjects were assessed, 58 (82.9%) males and 12 (17.1%) females. The male-to-female ratio was 4.8: 1. The age range was 18 - 65 years with a mean of 31.77 years ± 11.72 years. Overall (right and left lateral thoracic sides), CDU (M = 0.94, SD = 0.48) identified more perforators than HHD (M = 0.85, SD = 0.51) and was statistically significant, t (419) = 3.667, p = 0.000.
Conclusion: This Study demonstrated that the CDU identified more perforators when compared with the HHD and was statistically significant. The CDU has to be used pre-op or made available in the theatre, which is cumbersome.