Flap Surgery
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Flap (F): A sheet of tissue partially or totally detached to gain access to structures underneath or to be used in repairing defects; can be classified based on the location of the donor site (local or distant), attachment to donor site (pedicle, island or free), tissue to be transferred (e.g., mucosal, mucoperiosteal, cutaneous, myocutaneous), tissue thickness (partial-thickness or full-thickness), blood supply (random pattern or axial pattern), and direction and orientation of transfer (envelope, advancement, rotation, transposition, and hinged).
Location of Donor Site:
Local flap: Harvested from an adjacent site
Distant flap: Harvested from a remote site
Attachment to Donor Site:
Pedicle flap: Attached by tissue through which it receives its blood supply
Island flap (F/IS): Attached by a pedicle made up of only the nutrient vessels.
Free flap: Completely detached from the body; it has also been suggested that a free flap be termed a graft
Tissue to be Transferred:
Mucosal flap: Containing mucosa
Mucoperiosteal flap: Containing mucosa and underlying periosteum
Cutaneous (or skin) flap: Containing epidermis, dermis, and subcutaneous tissue
Myocutaneous flap: Containing skin and muscle
Gingival flap: Containing gingiva
Alveolar mucosa flap: Containing alveolar mucosa
Periodontal flap: Containing gingiva and alveolar mucosa
Labial flap: Containing lip mucosa
Buccal flap: Containing cheek mucosa
Sublingual flap: Containing sublingual mucosa
Palatal flap: Containing palatal mucosa
Pharyngeal flap: Containing pharyngeal mucosa
Tissue Thickness:
Partial-thickness (or split-thickness) flap: Consisting of a portion of the original tissue thickness
Full-thickness flap: Having the original tissue thickness
Blood Supply:
Random pattern flap: Randomly supplied by nonspecific arteries
Axial pattern flap: Supplied by a specific artery