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Why would you need this surgery?
Why would you need this surgery?
When an area of your body has been damaged by cancer, an injury, or another medical condition, surgeons can sometimes use your own healthy tissue to help rebuild it. Because the tissue comes from your own body, it can heal and become a living part of the reconstructed area. With an ALT free flap, skin, fat, and sometimes a small amount of muscle from your thigh are used to rebuild another part of your body, most commonly the mouth, tongue, throat, or face.
Swipe through the images below to see how it works!
What happens after surgery?
Its important to note that every patient's recovery is different. Your surgical team will give you instructions based on your specific procedure and needs.
Step 1: Watching the Flap Closely
During the first few days after surgery, your care team will monitor the flap closely to make sure blood is flowing properly.They may check its color, warmth, and blood flow using specialized monitoring techniques.
Step 2: Caring for Both Surgical Areas
After an ALT free flap, your body is healing in two places: the area being reconstructed and the thigh where the tissue was taken. Your care team will monitor both areas and provide instructions for dressings, pain control, and wound care.
Step 3: Gradually Returning to Movement
Movement and activity are usually reintroduced gradually. Your care team may work with you to help you safely sit, stand, walk, and regain strength. Because the donor tissue comes from the thigh, some discomfort or tightness in the leg can occur as the area heals.
Step 4: Continuing Your Recovery
Recovery continues after you leave the hospital. Follow-up visits allow your surgical team to monitor healing and answer questions along the way. Over time, swelling improves, incisions heal, and your body continues adjusting to the reconstruction.
Quick Facts:
Quick Facts:
How long is the surgery? Most commonly around 6-12 hours depending on the resection needed and individual case complexity,
How long is the hospital stay? Also highly individual dependent, anywhere from 5–10 days.
Where does the tissue come from? - The outer thigh.
Will the Blood Vessels be Reconnected? Yes! Tiny blood vessels are connected under a microscope so the tissue stays healthy.
Will I Still Be Able to Walk? Most people can walk again after recovery.
Will there be scarring?
Why the ALT Flap is useful
The ALT flap is a versatile free flap that can provide a large amount of skin, subcutaneous tissue, fascia, and muscle. This allows the surgeon to modify the flap depending on the defect/reconstructive needs.
It has a long vessel supplying the tissue (vascular pedicle) which allows for versatility when re-attaching the blood supply at the reconstruction site.
The flap can often be harvested with relatively little negative functional impact at the donor site.
Vascular anatomy
The primary blood supply is usually from the descending branch of the lateral circumflex femoral artery.
References and more reading:
Alexander L, Fahrenkopf MP. Free Tissue Transfer of the Lateral Thigh and Anterolateral Thigh. StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2026 Jan-. Updated September 4, 2023. URL: <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK563253/>
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