Objective To investigate the effectiveness of high frequency color Doppler ultrasound for detecting perforators in the anterolateral thigh (ALT) flap surgery. Methods Between February 2011 and July 2012, 8 patients underwent high frequency color Doppler ultrasound to detect the perforator anatomy before ALT flap surgery. There were 5 males and 3 females, aged 21-46 years (mean, 34 years). Defects were caused by excision of squamous cell carcinoma in 2 cases, by scalp avulsion in 2 cases, by soft tissue necrosis after neck trauma in 1 case, by excision of groin fibrosarcoma in 1 case, by excision of groin melanoma in 1 case, and by malformation of the face in 1 case. The defect size varied from 12 cm × 7 cm to 22 cm × 18 cm. The perforator with wider caliber, faster flow speed, and shorter intramuscular trajectory was selected, and the flap was designed according to the observed results, which size varied from 14 cm × 9 cm to 25 cm × 20 cm. The donnor sites were repaired by free skin graft. Results Totally, 19 perforators in the flap area were detected by high frequency color Doppler ultrasound, and 18 were identified during operation, with an accuracy rate of 94.7%. The point going out muscle, the travel and direction of perforators observed during operation were basically in accordance with those detected by high frequency color Doppler ultrasound. The other flaps survived, and obtained healing by first intention except 1 flap which had partial fat necrosis with healing by second intention. The skin graft at donor site survived. All patients followed up 4-16 months (mean, 8 months). The flaps had good color and texture. Conclusion High frequency color Doppler ultrasound is a valuable imaging modality for the preoperative assessment of the vascular supply for ALT flap.
Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of anterolateral thigh and groin conjoined flap in emergent repair of ultra-long complex tissue defects in forearm and hand. Methods Between February 2009 and October 2011, 6 patients with complex tissue defect of dorsal forearm and hand were in adminsion. There were 5 male and 1 female with an average age of 38.5 years (range, 32-47 years). Injury reasons included machine injury in 5 cases and traffic accident injury in 1 case. Injury to admission time was from 3 to 16 hours (mean, 6 hours). All case were single limb injury, including right forearm and hand injury in 4 cases and left forearm and hand injury in 2 cases. The wound area was from 36 cm × 9 cm to 48 cm × 12 cm. The type of associated injury included elbow dislocation associated with open injury in 2 cases; fractures of the radial, ulnar, and metacarpal bone in 4 cases; defects of wrist dorsal skin and extensor tendons of fingers and wrist in 5 cases; and defects of ulnar artery and ulnar nerve in 1 case. The anterolateral thigh and groin conjoined free flaps were used to repair defects in the forearm and hand in emergency. The area of flap was from 36 cm × 9 cm to 48 cm × 12 cm. Meanwhile the partial functional reconstruction was performed. The donor site was repaired by skin grafts. Results The anastomotic embolization of vascular pedicle and arteria interossea dorsalis occurred in 1 case, purulent secretion under the flap in 1 case, which were cured after symptomatic treatment; the skin flaps completely survived, and primary healing of the wounds were obtained in the other cases. The donor skin grafts survived in 2 cases, and partial necrosis of the skin graft of lower abdominal occurred in 4 cases, and healed after changing dressing. All of the 6 patients were followed up 3 to 18 months (mean, 10 months). The appearance and texture of the flaps were good. The protective sensation was recovered in 2 cases followed up for more than 14 months; no sensory recovery was observed in the other cases. At last follow-up, according to the upper extremity functional evaluation standard by Hand Surgery Branch of Chinese Medical Association, the results were excellent in 1 case, good in 4 cases, and poor in 1 case, and the excellent and good rate was 83.3%. Conclusion It could get a good short-term effectiveness to use the anterolateral thigh and groin conjoined flap for emergent repair of the ultra-long and complex tissue defects in forearm and hand.
Objective To summarize the method and the cl inical outcome of repairing both toe extensor tendon and dorsal foot wounds with anterolateral thigh flap. Methods Between February 2007 and May 2009, 11 patients with toe extensor tendon and dorsal foot defect were treated with anterolateral thigh flap. There were 8 males and 3 females with a medianage of 45 years (range, 10-60 years). The causes of injury were sharp injury in 3 cases, machine crush injury in 3 cases, and traffic accident injury in 5 cases, including 7 cases of fresh wounds with a disease duration of 2-8 hours and 4 cases of old wounds with a disease duration of 3-15 days. The size of wound ranged from 6 cm × 5 cm to 25 cm × 15 cm. All cases compl icated by toe extensor tendon defect, which were located at the 2nd-5th toes in 1 case, 3rd-5th toes in 1 case, 2nd-4th toes in 2 cases, 2nd and 3rd toes in 3 cases, 1st and 2nd toes in 1 case, and 1st toe in 3 cases. In the first stage, the anterolateral thigh flap ranged from 8 cm × 7 cm to 27 cm × 15 cm was used to repair defect and fascia lata was used to bridge two ends of digitorum longus tendon; the donor site was sutured or repaired with the skin graft. The second stage was performed after 2-3 months, tenolysis for tendon was performed, and fascia lata was spl it into tendon-l ike shape; and the toe functional exercises were done. Results All flaps survived completely after the first stage, wounds healed by first intention; the donor skin graft survived and incisions healed by first intention. At 7 days after the second stage, marginal necrosis occurred in 3 flaps (0.5-2.0 cm in width), and healed after 15-20 days of dressing change; the other flaps survived, and incisions healed by first intention. Eight patients were followed up 12-18 months (mean, 15 months). Excepts 4 sl ight bulky flaps, the other flaps had satisfactory appearance and soft texture with two points discrimination of 1-3 cm. During the follow-up, part of the dorsiflexion function recovered in 5 patients (5-40°), andflexion function was normal; 3 dorsiflexion function disappeared without effect on the function of toe flexion, and the patients could walk normally. No toe ptosis occurred. Conclusion Appl ication of the anterolateral thigh flap can repair toe extensor tendon and dorsal foot wounds with short treatment time and less damage at the donor site, so it can avoid toe ptosis after surgery and achieve excellent cl inical results.
Objective To investigate the donor-site compl ications of the anterolateral thigh flap and its influencing factors. Methods Between July 1988 and July 2007, 427 patients were treated with anterolateral thigh flap. Among them, 33 patients had postoperative donor-site compl ications and their cl inical data were analyzed retrospectively. There were 21 malesand 12 females aged 14-47 years old (average 32.7 years old). The size of the wound defect ranged from 16 cm × 7 cm to 28 cm × 13 cm. The area of the flap harvested during operation ranged from 16 cm × 7 cm to 30 cm × 13 cm. The donor sites were treated by direct suture in 7 cases; free spl it-thickness skin graft in 23 cases, and reverse superficial epigastric artery flap repair in 3 cases. The size of graft in the donor site ranged from 10 cm × 5 cm to 18 cm × 8 cm. The occurrence of short-term (within 4 weeks) and long-term (over 6 months) compl ications were analyzed. Results All patients were followed up for 8-54 months (average 21 months). There were 26 patients (78.8%) with short-term and long-term compl ications and 7 patients (21.2%) with long-term compl ications. The short-term compl ications included skin graft necrosis in 23 cases (69.7%), wound infection in 17 cases (51.5%), and muscle necrosis in 2 cases (6.1%). The long-term compl ications included non-heal ing wounds in 21 cases (63.6%), serious scar in 28 cases (84.8%), discomfort in 25 cases (75.8%), and dysfunction of the quadriceps femoris in 16 cases (48.5%). Conclusion The occurrence of anterolateral thigh flap donor-site compl ications is related to the anatomical structure of the anterolateral thigh region, the surgical procedure, and the patient’s physique.
Objective To introduce the application of the pedicled anterolateral thigh flap transferring for coverage of the oversized skin defect of the hand. Methods The pedicled anterolateral thigh flap was transferred to cover the large skin defects of the hands or the skin defects of theabdomen after the abdominal flap transferred to the hand in 5 male patients aged 16-44 years from April 2002 to August 2005. The injured sites were as follows:4 right hands and 1 left hand, including 2 hands injured by a machine and 3 hands injured by burning.The mechanically injured patients underwent an operation within 6 hours after the injury. The burned patients were reconstructed by the flap transferring 4-7 days after the burn when the decayed tissues could be clearly indentified.The areas of the hand defects were 12.19 cm×18.22 cm.The areas of the pedicled anterolateral thigh flaps were 7.12 cm×16.24 cm. The areas of the abdominal flaps were 13.20 cm×19.23 cm.The pedicles were separated 3 weeks after the repairing operation. Results All the flaps survived well and there was no vascular crisis, with the wound healing of the first intention. The skin defects of the hand were covered completely. Five patients were followed up for 6-12 months. The texture of the flaps was soft and the flaps had a good blood circulation. Of the patients, 3 underwent the finger exclusion and degreasing operation 47 months after operation. All the flaps of the hands had protective sensation, which could meet the requirement of the daily life. Conclusion The pedicled anterolateral thigh flap can provide the large coverage for the skin defects of the hands. The risk of the operation can be greatly decreased by obviation of the vessel anastomosis. It can be an optimal choice for themanagement of the oversized skin defects of the hands.
Objective To discuss different applications ofanterolateral thigh flap in repairing large skinsoft tissue defects. Methods From January 1997 to July 2004, 27 pitients with large-complex tissue defects were treated using anterolateral thigh flap. The tissue defect was located at face in 9 cases,at cervix in 4 cases, at lower limbs in 6 cases, at vulvae in 4 cases,at hip in 1 case, at groin in 1 case and at breast tissue in 2 cases. The defect area was from 9 cm×8 cm to 20 cm×15 cm and the flap was harvested from 10 cm×8 cm to 33 cm×15 cm. Results Flaps survived in 26 cases after operation, and patients were satisfied with local function and appearance; flap necrosis occurred only in1 case，and the defect was covered with free skin graft after dress exchanges. Twenty-three cases were followed up from 3 months to 2 years. The appearance and the sense of recipient site were similar to the adjacent tissue. No obvious malformation of the donor site was observed. No local recurrence was found in the 6 cases of malignancy during the follow-up from 6 months to 15 months. Conclusion Anterolateral thigh skin flap can provide enough tissue to repair large skinsoft tissue defect,and can be used in different ways. So anterolateral femoral skin flap is an ideal flap in repairing large skinsoft tissue defect.
Objective To investigate the anatomic variations of the perforator vessels of anterolateral thigh (ALT) flap and the clinical indications. Methods From March 1985 to August 2004, the anterolateral thigh flapgraft was performed in 112 patients. The clinical data were analyzed. There were 67 males and 45 females, aging from 5 to 65 years with an average of 38.5 years. According to recipient site condition, four methods of flap harvesting were as follows:① 78 received free fasciocutaneous flaps;② 22 received free adipofascial flaps;③ 5 received pedicled island fasciocutaneous flaps; ④ 7 received pedicled reverse-flow island fasciocutaneous flaps. Facial, neck, breast, extremityjoint, plantar, and perineum defects were repaired and the effectiveness and donor site morbidity were evaluated. Results The blood supply of ALT flap came from the descending branch or transverse branch of the lateral circumflex femoralartery. The skin vessels were found to be septocutaneous perforators in 33% of flaps and to be musculocutaneous perforators in 77% of flaps. Of 112 flaps, 107 survived completely, the survival rate was 95.6% with little donor site morbidity. Conclusion ALT flap is a versatile softtissue flap. If refined to perforator flap, it can achieve better results in reconstructing defect and minimizing donor-site morbidity.
ObjectiveTo investigate the feasibility of the anterolateral thigh free flap with the oblique branch in reconstructing the soft tissue defects of lower extremity. MethodsBetween June 2009 and February 2013,12 patients (including 7 males and 5 females) with soft tissue defects of lower extremity were treated with the anterolateral thigh free flap with the oblique branch,aged from 8 to 42 years (median,32 years).The locations of soft tissue defect were the dorsum of the foot in 5 cases,the ankle and foot in 4 cases,the lower leg in 2 cases,and the distal foot in 1 case.All defects were associated with exposure of tendon and bone.The size of the wound was from 15 cm×7 cm to 27 cm×12 cm.The interval of injury and operation was 1 to 7 days (mean,3.7 days).The anterolateral thigh flap was pedicled with only the oblique branch in 7 patients,and with the both descending branch and oblique branch in 5 patients,and the size of flap was from 17 cm×9 cm to 30 cm×15 cm.The donor sites were repaired by suture in 3 patients,and by skin graft in 9 patients. ResultsDistal skin flap necrosis occurred in 1 case,and was cured after dressing change and skin graft.The other flaps survived,and the donor site healed primarily.The follow-up time was from 10 months to 2 years (mean,18 months).Thinning operation was performed in 3 cases,and the other flaps recovered pain and warm sensation with good appearance. ConclusionIt is a safe and effective method to reconstruct soft tissue defects of the lower extremity with the anterolateral thigh flap pedicled with the oblique branch.
ObjectiveTo discuss the effectiveness of free anterolateral thigh flap pedicled with medial sural vessels for treatment of leg skin and soft tissue defects. MethodsBetween July 2008 and January 2014, 32 cases of serious skin and soft tissue defects in the leg were repaired by using free anterolateral thigh flap pedicled with medial sural artery and vein. Of them, there were 22 males and 10 females, aged 23 to 50 years (mean, 36.5 years). Defects were caused by traffic accidents injury in 9 cases, crash injury of heavy object in 15 cases, and machine twist injury in 8 cases. The left side was involved in 10 cases and the right side in 22 cases. The mean interval of injury and admission was 2.5 hours (range, 1-4 hours). The location was the upper, middle, and lower one third of the anterior tibia in 15 cases, 10 cases, and 7 cases respectively. The area of defect ranged from 10 cm×5 cm to 23 cm×9 cm. After debridement and vaccum sealing drainage treatment, the anterolateral thigh flap ranging from 12 cm×7 cm to 25 cm×11 cm pedicled with the medial sural vessels was used to repair the wound. The donor site was sutured directly or repaired with the skingrafts. ResultsAll flaps and skingrafts survived after operation, and primary healing of wound was obtained. After 6-23 months (mean, 14.5 months) follow-up, all flaps were characterized by soft texture, good color, and satisfactory appearance. The sensation of the flaps were recovered to S2~S3+ according to the Britain's Medical Research Council criteria at 6 months after operation. No obvious scar contracture was observed at donor site. ConclusionThe medial sural artery has the advantages of constant anatomical position, large diameter, rich blood flow, and a long artery pedicle, so the medial sural vessels is an ideal choice as recipient vessels for the reconstruction of leg skin and soft tissue defect.
ObjectiveTo investigate the effectiveness of digital technology in repairing wounds of the hand and foot with anterolateral thigh flap. MethodsBetween September 2013 and September 2014, 16 cases of wounds of the hand and foot were treated with the anterolateral thigh flap. There were 10 males and 6 females, with an average age of 31 years (range, 20-52 years). The causes included traffic accident injury in 8 cases, crushing injury by machine in 6 cases, burning injury in 1 case, and animal biting injury in 1 case. The locations of soft tissue defect were the dorsum of the foot in 5 cases, the ankle in 4 cases, the planta pedis in 1 case, and the hand and forearm in 6 cases. The time was 2 hours to 45 days from injury to hospitalization (mean, 14.3 days). All defects were associated with exposure of bone and tendon. The size of wound was from 9.0 cm×4.0 cm to 29.0 cm×8.5 cm. CT angiography (CTA) was performed before operation, and the appropriate perforator as well as the donor site was selected. Then the Mimics15.0 software was used to reconstruct the data of CTA so as to locate the main perforators, design the three-dimensional models of the anterolateral thigh flap, and simulate operation. The flap was obtained according to preoperative plan during operation. The size of flaps varied from 11 cm×5 cm to 31 cm×10 cm. The donor sites were sutured directly in 14 cases and were repaired by free skin graft in 2 cases. ResultsThe lateral femoral circumflex artery identified by Mimics15.0 software before operation, as well as the starting position of its descending branch, the blood vessel diameter at start site, vascular distribution, the maximum cutting length of the vascular pedicle were consistent with the actual observation during operation. All flaps were harvested and were used to repair defect smoothly. Vascular crisis occurred in 1 flap after operation, and the other flaps survived successfully. The wounds and the incisions obtained healing by first intention, and grafted skin survived completely. All cases were followed up 6-17 months (mean, 9 months). Fifteen flaps had good shape;but a second-stage operation was performed to make the flap thinner in 1 case. At last follow-up, the results were excellent in 3 cases, good in 2 cases, and fair in 1 case according to total active motion (TAM) in 6 cases of hand and forearm injury;the results were excellent in 5 cases, good in 3 cases, and fair in 2 cases according to American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) in 10 cases of foot injury. The total excellent and good rate was 81.25%. ConclusionThe preoperative individualization design of the flap can be realized through CTA digital technology and Mimics15.0 software;it can reduce the operation risk.