What words should I know about microsurgery?

Artery

Blood vessel sending blood away from the heart.

Donor site

An area of your body where the surgeon harvests skin, fat, muscle, and/or bone to reconstruct another area of the body.

Free flap

Tissue isolated on specific blood supply that is removed from one area of the body and transplanted to another area of the body with vascular repair.

General anesthesia

Drugs and/or gases used during an operation to relieve pain and alter consciousness.

Hematoma

Blood pooling beneath the skin.

Intravenous sedation

Sedatives administered by injection into a vein to help you relax.

Local anesthesia

A drug is injected directly to the site of an incision during an operation to relieve pain.

Local flap

Tissue with an intact blood supply that is lifted from a donor site and moved to an adjacent recipient site without detaching blood vessels.

Replantation

Reattachment of a limb or digit (finger) to its original position.

Skin graft

Healthy skin is removed from one area of the body and relocated to the wound site.

Vasospasm

Narrowing of the blood vessels.

Vein

Blood vessel return blood to the heart.