Abstract
Objective
Management of complex foot injuries including skin, tendons, vessels, bone, with soft
tissue defects is considered as an orthopedic challenge. Microsurgical free muscle
flaps provide the best solution in such cases.
Patients and methods
Thirty two consecutive cases of complex ankle and foot injuries were treated by skin
grafted muscle free flap in one stage procedure after radical debridement. Twenty
four were males and 8 were females. Right foot was affected in 26 and left was involved
in 6 patients. The average age was 22 years (range 6–33 years). The most common cause
of injury was motor car accident. All cases had complex soft tissue defect with bone
exposure. All cases were candidate for amputation. Gracilis muscle transfer was done
in 26 cases and latissimus dorsi free flap in 6 cases. The average follow up was 38
months.
Results
All the free muscle flaps survived. The involved bone fracture was united at an average
3 months. No evidence of osteomyelitis was noted. Full weight bearing was restored
3 months post-operatively. All patients were satisfied with the cosmetic appearance
and functional capacity of their operated limbs.
Conclusion
Skin-grafted free muscle flap as one-stage procedure is a good solution for reconstruction
of complex ankle and foot injuries.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: October 23, 2019
Footnotes
This paper is part of a Supplement supported by the European Federation of Societies of Microsurgery (EFSM) and the Serbian Society for Reconstructive Microsurgery (SSRM).
Identification
Copyright
© 2019 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
