Plastic Surgery

Plastic surgery, encompassing cosmetic and reconstructive surgery, is a rapidly growing specialty experiencing double-digit growth. Cosmetic surgery is performed to reshape normal structures of the body in order to improve the patient's appearance and self-esteem and is paid for by the patient. Reconstructive surgery is performed on abnormal structures of the body, caused by congenital defects, developmental abnormalities, trauma, infection, tumors or disease.

Use of ODISsey can be a critical aid to the success of plastic surgical procedures using flaps or grafts of tissue, and involving reattachment of severed limbs or digits. To survive, flaps and reattachments must receive adequate blood flow and oxygen; therefore tissue blood supply and local tissue oxygenation are critical parameters to assess and monitor viability.

Clinical Value:
Causes of surgical failure include poor flap design or violation of the blood supply to the flap, post-operative edema or hematoma formation causing pressure on the flap and leading to necrosis, or post-operative thrombosis which compromises the blood supply. ODISsey permits accurate real–time assessment of tissue hypoxia, and thrombosis. This critical information can be used for disease diagnosis and intra and post surgical monitoring, permitting immediate intervention, if needed, to reduce complications and improve outcomes.

Intraoperative Application: The ODISsey system is the ideal tool since it provides real-time information during the operation. The surgeon uses a handheld sensor that is directly applied on the area of potential viability problems. The surgeon can make an immediate assessment of the local oxygen and blood circulation to decide whether that tissue should be trimmed off to avoid complications or preserved with a good chance of success.

Post-operative monitoring: Tissue viability is also a major concern after surgery in flaps and reattachment of severed body parts. ODISsey can be used to monitor for post-operative complications such as thrombosis or necrosis.

Economic Value:
Mean cost for reconstructive patients with major complications is almost double the cost for patients without complications. Costs for patients with minor complications are 50 % more expensive on average than for patients without complications.

Note: Some of the applications discussed in the Application and Future Applications section are for research purposes only.