Background and objective.

Perforator based flaps have dramatically grown in popularity. However, these flaps are a lot harder to harvest because of the high anatomical variability in terms of location, course and size. Therefore, preoperative perforator mapping has become an integral part of the reconstructive surgery. Thermography is an imaging technique, showing promising results, in preoperative perforator mapping, intraoperative perfusion assessment and postoperative flap monitoring based on visualizing the infrared radiation emitted by the skin, and correlating it with tissue temperature.

The aim of our study in to perform a review of the current evidence for the use of thermography in preoperative perforator mapping, intraoperative perfusion assessment and postoperative flap monitoring.

Methods.

We performed a systematic review in PubMed, Medline, LILACS, MEDES y SciELO to evaluate the current evidence regarding the use of infrared thermography in the assessment of perforator flaps.

Results.

We evaluate a total of 22 articles of which 12 correspond to the use of conventional thermography and 9 to the use of thermography associated with smartphones.

Conclusions.

Thermography is a simple, non-ionising, non-invasive promising method of assessing perforator location and quality, intraoperative perfusion assessment and postoperative flap monitoring. Due to its limitations, currently, it should be used as an adjunctive tool together with established imaging techniques.

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