How should perineal wounds be closed following abdominoperineal resection in patients post radiotherapy – Primary closure or flap repair? Best evidence topic (BET)

This best evidence topic was investigated according to a described protocol. The question posed was: should the irradiated perineal wound following abdominoperineal resection (APR) be closed with primary repair or a myocutaneous flap. Using the reported search 364 papers were found of which eight represented the best evidence to answer the clinical question. The conclusion drawn is that there is some limited evidence for recommending flap closure in abdominoperineal resection post radiotherapy. The best evidence available was from a systematic review of cohort studies and case series. Although no meta-analysis was performed, overall wound healing was improved using flap closure with a low frequency of flap necrosis. Other studies providing evidence were case–control series or cohort studies. Three papers prospectively compared vertical rectus abdominus muscle (VRAM) flap with primary closure; two of which demonstrated statistically significant improvement in complication rates with flap closure. Two retrospective case control series showed significant improvement in major wound complication rates in the flap group. Two studies retrospectively compared gracilis flap repair with primary closure and showed significantly lower incidence of major perineal complications.Most studies suffered from significant limitations, small sample sizes and no direct comparisons between matched groups with respect to type of anatomic flap, wound size, tumour recurrence or radiation dose. Whilst there is evidence that myocutaneous flap closure following APR in radiotherapy patients can reduce wound related complications, prospective randomized controlled trials are warranted.