The Impact of a Short Video Versus Face-to-face Patient Education in Reverse Sural Flap Surgery

Background: soft tissue reconstruction with a reverse sural flap (rsaf) is a useful method totreat soft tissue defects around the ankle, distal tibia, and heels.objectives: proper education of patients undergoing this surgery is crucial for patients dueto the complexity of the surgical procedure and the necessity to adhere to post-operative careinstructions.methods: this randomized clinical trial was performed between august 2019 and august 2022.the study included 30 male patients with soft tissue defects around the ankle and distal tibia whounderwent rsaf surgery. before the surgery, patients were randomized by simple randomizationinto two groups, group a received oral and face-to-face education regarding the postoperativecure process, while group b received education through a short video. the variables includedflap failure, duration from surgery to discharge, and flap congestion. data were analyzed usingspss software, version 26, with statistical significance set at a p<0.05.results: out of the total patients, 12(40%) experienced different levels of flap congestion,although no significant difference was observed between the two groups (p>0.05). the meanduration from surgery to discharge was 8.4 days in group a and 10.06 days in group b, showingno statistically meaningful difference (p>0.05). none of the patients experienced any majorcomplications.conclusion: the video-assisted education for reverse sural artery flap (rsaf) procedure isnot inferior to the traditional face-to-face methods. however, further studies with larger samplesizes and across various surgical procedures are recommended to determine the best method ofeducation for patients undergoing challenging procedures, such as rsaf.