Journal
JOURNAL OF PLASTIC RECONSTRUCTIVE AND AESTHETIC SURGERY
Volume 61, Issue 7, Pages 777-783Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.bjps.2007.10.077
Keywords
propeller; perforator flap; lower limb; leg reconstruction
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Leg soft tissue defects with bone or tendon exposure need to be covered with a flap. Various local and free flaps with more or less consistent donor site defects have been described in the past. After the introduction of the perforator-based flap concept, new flaps have also been described for the leg. An evolution and simplification of the perforator flap concept, together with the 'free style' flap harvesting method, are the propeller flaps, i.e. local flaps, based on a perforator vessel, which becomes the pivot point for the skin island that can, therefore, be rotated up to 180 degrees. In this prospective study, six consecutive patients, having post-traumatic soft tissue defects of the leg or knee prosthesis infection, with bone or tendon exposure, were treated with propeller flaps. Complete and stable coverage of the soft tissue losses was obtained in all. cases with an inconspicuous, only cosmetic, donor site defect. No flap necrosis was observed, with the exception of a small superficial necrosis of the tip of one flap, due to the inclusion in the design of scarred tissue. in two cases, transient venous congestion was observed and resolved spontaneousty. Mean operative time was 2 h (ranging from 60 min to 6 h when an orthopaedic procedure was also needed) and mean hospital stay after surgery was 10 days. Propeller flaps allow the coverage of wide defects, can be raised with a relatively simple surgical technique, have a high success rate and good cosmetic results without functional impairment. In the light of this they can be considered among the first surgical choices to resurface complex soft tissue defects of the leg. (c) 2008 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available