Vasopressor support vs. liberal fluid administration in deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) free flap breast reconstruction – a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

The results of this prospective interventional trial could not detect any negative impact of vasopressors, neither for the primary endpoint of flap survival nor for the overall patient outcome. The fear of vasopressor associated flap complications has led to a traditional liberal fluid administration, which failed to demonstrate any benefits when compared to a fluid restrictive vasopressor strategy.