Editing Penis and Urethra Surgery (section)

=== Graft vs. Flap ===
* '''Tissues can be transferred as a graft or flap'''
* '''<span style="color:#ff0000">The term flap implies that the tissue is excised and transferred WITH THE BLOOD SUPPLY either preserved or surgically re-established at the recipient site'''
** Important considerations for the use of flaps in urethral reconstruction:
**# Nature of the flap tissue
**# Vasculature of the flap
**# Mechanics of flap transfer
* '''<span style="color:#ff0000">The term graft implies that tissue is excised and transferred to a graft host bed, where a NEW BLOOD SUPPLY develops by a process termed take'''
** '''Take requires ≈96 hours and occurs in 2 phases:'''
**# '''Initial phase: imbibition'''
**#* '''Requires ≈48 hours'''
**#* '''Graft survives by “drinking” nutrients from the adjacent graft host bed'''
**#* '''Temperature of the graft is less than the core body temperature'''
**# '''Second phase: inosculation'''
**#* '''Requires ≈48 hours'''
**#* '''True microcirculation is reestablished in the graft'''
**#* '''Temperature of the graft increases to core body temperature'''