Klinik für Plastische und Handchirurgie

Inflammatory conditions affect the clinical outcome in all parts of plastic surgery. This particularly applies for inflammatory reactions after free flap surgery, a surgical technique where autologous tissue is used to close defects and to reconstruct function and outline of the body by connecting the vascular pedicle of the transplanted tissue to blood vessels of the recipient site during microsurgery.

The reperfusion of the ischemic tissue is after completing the anastomosis is both a blessing and a curse. The inflow of vital oxygen and nutrients into the transferred tissue is accompanied by immune cells and other pro-inflammatory messengers that can here provoke significant inflammatory reactions. The inflammatory damage can be strong enough to force cells into programmed cell death (Figure 1).

Supported by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG), we use advanced methods of real-time digital intravital imaging to analyze microcirculatory changes after reperfusion of previous ischemic tissue (Figure 2).

The focus of this project is to analyze immune cells and their interactions with inflammatory mediators such as C-reactive Protein (CRP) in order to develop new therapeutic strategies that may influence the inflammatory cascade after free tissue transfer (Figure 3). Drug development and pharmacokinetic studies are conducted in cooperation with the Center for Biological Systems Analysis of the University of Freiburg (ZBSA).