Microvascular Surgery on very small blood vessels such as those only 1 to 3 millimeters in diameter. Microvascular surgery is done through an operating-room microscope using specialized instruments and tiny needles with ultrafine sutures. Microvascular surgery is used to reattach severed fingers, hands, arms, and another amputated parts to the body by reconnecting the small blood vessels and restoring the circulation before the tissue starts to die. Microvascular surgery also can be used in reconstructive surgery.

Although microsurgery is used mostly in plastic surgery, microsurgical techniques are utilized by all specialties today, especially those involved in reconstructive surgery such as: general surgery, orthopedic surgery, gynecological surgery, otolaryngology, neurosurgery, maxillofacial surgery, and pediatric surgery.

Free tissue transfer

Free tissue transfer is a surgical reconstructive procedure using microsurgery. A region of "donor" tissue is selected that can be isolated on a feeding artery and vein; this tissue is usually a composite of several tissue types (e.g., skin, muscle, fat, bone). Common donor regions include the rectus abdominis muscle, latissimus dorsi muscle, fibula, and radial forearm bone and skin lateral arm skin.

Replantation

Replantation is the reattachment of a completely detached body part. Fingers and thumbs are the most common but the ear, scalp, nose, face, arm and penis have all been replanted. Generally replantation involves restoring blood flow through arteries and veins, restoring the bony skeleton and connecting tendons and nerves as required.

Transplantation

Microsurgical techniques have played a crucial role in the development of transplantation immunological research because it allowed the use of rodents models, which are more appropriate for transplantation research (there are more reagents, monoclonal antibodies, knockout animals, and other immunological tools for mice and rats than other species).