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Objective:To investigate the feasibility and clinical effect of the computer assisted design of the lobulated perforator flap based on the descending branch of lateral circumflex femoral artery(d-LCFA) to reconstruct the soft tissue defects of heel.Methods:From October 2014 to November 2016, a computer assisted virtual technology was used to simulate the process of pre-operative design, isolation, and harvest of d-LCFA perforating flaps. This method was used to guide the design and harvest of the flap of d-LCFA in the repair of large-area soft tissue defects of the heel in all of the 5 patients. One patient received a combine flap of the d-LCFA flap and the perforating branch of the inferior abdominal artery flap(DIEPF). Heel appearance and function were reconstructed in phase I together with the repair of the defect. Donor site was directly sutured. The recovery effect was followed-up in the clinic.Results:The 3D visualised model of the vessels in the donor area for quadriceps artery was successfully established in all 5 patients, and the design and removal of the perforating flap were successfully guided. All the 10 flaps survived successfully in 5 patients, except 1 patient had a backflow disorder at the distal end of the inferior epigastric artery perforator flap, with partial necrosis and II grafting. After 6 to 12 months of follow-up(mean, 8.7 months), the flap showed good in colour and texture, with satisfactory heel appearance. The donor site was left with a linear scar.Conclusion:Computer assisted design technology can effectively help in the design of the polyfoliate perforator flap pedicled with d-LCFA, using this technique to assist the design and repair of large area soft tissue defect of heel could reconstruct the shape of heel in phase I and restore the function of the heel to the maximum extent.
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A child who suffered a complex and exceptionally large soft tissue defects of both lower extremities and feet was referred in January, 2017. A debulking deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEPF) was used to cover the defect in right shank. The defects in left shank and foot were reconstructed by latissimus dorsi flap and bilateral debulking anterolateral thigh perforator flap (ALTPF) . Two years after operation, the appearance and texture of both lower limbs were good, and the child could walk and run almost normally. There were slightly noticeable scars left in both thighs and the back.
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Objective:To introduce a novel surgical technique for dissecting perforator vessels (orderly retrograde four-side dissection) in anterolateral thigh perforator flap (ALTPF) and explore its clinical outcome.Methods:Respective analysis of 94 patients who underwent reconstruction of soft tissue defects with ALTPF which were dissected by orderly retrograde four-side dissection between June, 2013 and December, 2016. After surgery, the survival of flaps, recovery in shape and function of the recipient sites, and the effect on shape and function of the donor sites were observed.Results:The size of ALTPF ranged from 7 cm×5 cm to 32 cm×10 cm. Ninety-four perforators were included in 94 ALTPF, which were 89 perforators of the descending branch of circumflex femoral lateral artery, 4 perforators of the transverse branch of circumflex femoral lateral artery and 1 perforator of femoral medial artery. The time for flap harvesting was 35-95(54.39±16.39) min. Success rate of perforator harvesting was 98.9%, only 1 perforator was injured and another encountered vasospasm during surgery. Three cases had vascular crisis after flap transfer with 2 venous crises and 1 artery crisis. All of the flaps completely survived except 1 that had a partial necrosis. The follow-up time was (12.91±9.17) months. No muscular weakness on donor sites was shown in all cases.Conclusion:Orderly retrograde four-side dissection of perforator vessels in the ALTPF has achieved less donor site morbidity, shorter surgical time and is safer than the traditional techniques. It is a reliable technique to harvest perforator flaps.
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Objective:To investigate the feasibility and clinical efficacy of anterolateral thigh chimeric perforator flap in repair of large area soft tissue defects around the knee joint.Methods:From January, 2015 to October, 2019, 9 patients with large area soft tissue defects around the knee joint were treated. All patients had different degrees of defect in knee joint capsule and joint opening. Before operation, the width of the flap was determined by "skin lifting and kneading test", and the location of perforators in anterolateral femoral region was confirmed and marked with the assistance of HHD detector. According to the size and shape of the wound surface, single leaf or lobulated perforator flap was designed based on the principle that the donor site should be closed directly. The minimum size of the flap was 14.0 cm×5.0 cm, there was 1 case of lobulated flap with the largest area, respectively was 17.0 cm×9.0 cm and 18.0 cm×8.5 cm. The chimeric tissue flap(muscle flap or fascia lata flap) was taken according to the location and severity of joint opening. The grafted tissue flap was used to fill the articular cavity, the flap was used to repair the wound of knee joint, the blood supply of the flap was reconstructed, and a drainage catheter was placed in the cavity of knee joint. The recovery follow-up conducted in outpatient department.Results:All flaps survived without vascular incident. The recipient site of flap in 1 patient was not thoroughly washed and drained, and there was more exudation. After dressing change and drainage, the rest recipient areas of the flap were healed in stage I. All patients entered 3 to 36(average 12) months of follow-up. The appearance and function of recipient area recovery were satisfactorily. Only a linear scar remained in donor site.Conclusion:Anterolateral thigh chemeric perforator flap is ideal for repairing large soft tissue defects around the knee joint.
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Objective:To explore the effects of specially formed radial collateral artery perforator flaps in reconstruction of the complex digit defects.Methods:From April, 2014 to March, 2020, 20 patients with multiple digit injuries combined with bone defects were treated by digit reconstruction with radial collateral artery chimeric and polyfoliate perforator flaps. Of the 20 patients, 7 patients were treated by chimeric perforator flaps, 12 by polyfoliate perforator flaps and 1 by chimeric polyfoliate perforator flap. Altogether 28 perforator flaps and 13 bone flaps were taken. The size of perforator flaps were 9.5 cm×4.0 cm to 4.0 cm×2.0 cm, and bone flap were 1.5 cm×0.6 cm×0.6 cm to 2.5 cm×1.0 cm×0.6 cm. All the donor sites were closed directly. Regular follow-up was performed. Function and clinical effect evaluation of repaired digits were made according to the Standard for Upper Limb Function Assessment of Hand Surgery Society of Chinese Medical Association and Sensory Function Assessment Criteria of British Medical Research Council (BMRC).Results:Twenty-seven flaps survived without any event. Venous congestion occurred in 1 flap with partial skin necrosis. Postoperative follow-up lasted from 3 months to 3.5 years (average 17.5 months). The appearance and texture of all flaps were good. All bone flaps properly healed. Sensory recovery achieved S 4 in 8 flaps, S 3 in 16 flaps and S 2 in 4 flaps. Hand function evaluation showed excellent in 12 patients and good in 8 patients. Conclusion:The specially formed radial collateral artery perforator flaps have the features of various designs with reliable blood supply, and are effective in repair of multiple digit injuries combined with soft tissue and bone defects.
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Objective:To explore the curative effects of thoracodorsal artery chimeric perforator flap used to repair extremity soft tissue defects complicated with a deep dead cavity.Methods:From July 2014 to July 2019, 17 patients with extremity soft tissue defects complicated with a deep dead cavity were repaired by a thoracodorsal artery chimeric perforator flap at Department of Orthopaedics, Xiangya Hospital. They were 10 males and 7 females, aged from 2 to 39 years (mean, 20.2 years). There were 7 cases of traffic accident trauma, 5 ones of chronic osteomyelitis, 2 ones of crushing injury and 3 ones of radical resection of tumor. The defects were located at the lower extremity in 15 cases and at the upper extremity in 2. The wound sizes ranged from 5 cm × 3 cm to 24 cm × 9 cm. All the wounds were complicated somewhat with a dead cavity or exposure of deep tissues after debridement. The muscular component of thoracodorsal artery chimeric perforator flap was used to fill the dead cavity while the skin component to cover the superficial wounds. The flap donor sites were closed directly. The flap survival and donor site recovery were followed up regularly after operation. The curative effects were assessed according to the comprehensive evaluation criteria of hand surgery for flaps.Results:Necrosis of the distal flap occurred in only one case which responded to dressing change; the flaps survived uneventfully in the other 16 cases. The recipient and donor sites of flaps healed primarily in all patients. Venous crisis developed in one case which survived uneventfully after vascular crisis exploration. The 17 patients were followed up for 6 to 24 months (mean, 15.8 months). In all patients the flap presented with good color, texture and elasticity but without obvious swelling. At the last follow-up, the curative effects by the comprehensive evaluation criteria of hand surgery for flaps were excellent in 10 cases, good in 6 and fair in one. Only linear scar remained at the flap donor site and abduction of the shoulder was not affected.Conclusion:The thoracodorsal artery chimeric perforator flap is an ideal means for repair of extremity soft tissue defects complicated with a deep dead cavity because it can repair the deep dead cavity and body surface wounds at the same time only after anastomosis of a bundle of vascular pedicles.
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Objective:To evaluate the feasibility and clinical results of micro-dissected chimeric (II-MCh) perforator flap based on the descending branch of lateral circumflex femoral artery(d-LCFA) for repairing composite soft tissue defects of limbs.Methods:From April, 2011 to December, 2019, a total of 19 cases of composite soft tissue defects of limbs combined with deep cavity were repaired with II-MCh perforator flap or micro-dissected thin lobulated (III-MPCh) perforator flap based on d-LCFA. The flap was micro-dissected before cut off the perforator. The deep dead cavity was filled with muscle flap, and the superficial wound was repaired with micro-dissected thin perforator flap. The sizes of flaps were 6.0 cm×3.0 cm-33.0 cm×8.0 cm. The muscle flaps were cut with volumes of 5.0 cm×3.0 cm×1.0 cm-13.0 cm×10.0 cm×1.5 cm. Donor sites of the flap were closed directly. Postoperative reviews were assigned at 1, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months. The appearance, colour, texture and recurrence of infection of the flap were checked and recorded.Results:Sixteen flaps survived successfully without necrosis and with primary healing at the donor sites. Two flaps had venous occlusion within 24 hours after surgery and healed after surgical exploration and venous anastomosis. One flap had arterial crisis within 24 hours after surgery and healed after surgical exploration and arterial anastomosis. All patients entered follow-up for 8-36 months with an average of 16 months. All recipient sites achieved satisfactory appearance and function, and only linear scars left at the donor sites.Conclusion:The II-MCh perforator flap based on d-LCFA is a special modality of anterolateral thigh perforator flap, which achieves a satisfying appearance at the recipient site by micro-dissecting the flap within one procedure. This emerging technique can effectively fill the dead cavity, and is an effective method to repair complex soft tissue defects of limbs combined with deep cavity.
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Objective:To investigate the feasibility and clinical effect of combined transplantation of bilateral perforator flap based on the descending branch of lateral circumflex femoral artery in the reconstruction of large soft tissue defects of lower limbs.Methods:From January, 2014 to September, 2019, 35 cases of large soft tissue defects of lower limbs were repaired by combined transplantation of bilateral perforator flap based on the descending branch of lateral circumflex femoral artery, and the donor sites were directly closed. The wound involved the shank, ankle and foot; The areas of defect ranged from 17.0 cm×12.0 cm to 33.0 cm×18.0 cm. External fixation were performed on 19 cases with open comminuted tibia fracture, and flap transplantation was preformed after through debridement and negative-pressure wound therapy for 5-7 days. The lateral femoral cutaneous nerve was remained in the flap, which was anastomosed with sensory nerves in the recipient site. The colour, texture, sensation, secondary ulcer of the flap and limb function were followed-up after the operation.Results:Of the 35 cases, 34 cases completely survived, and necrosis occurred in 1 case. The donor sites were closed primarily and complication was not observed in any of the cases. The followed-up period ranged from 6 to 38 months, at 17.6 months in average. The appearance and function of the reconstructed lower limbs were satisfactory.Conclusion:The combined transplantation of the perforate flap of descending branch of lateral femoral circumflex artery is safe and reliable. It can be used to repair large defect and the damage of the donor site is limited. It is an effective method to repair large area of soft tissue defects of lower limbs.
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Objective:To investigate the feasibility and clinical effects of the chimeric multi-paddled anteriolateral thigh perforator flap (ALTP) for reconstruction of complex defects in extremities, which was pedicled with the descending branch of lateral circumflex femoral artery (d-LCFA).Methods:From August, 2010 to December, 2017, 11 cases of severe soft-tissue defects were repaired with this flap, including 4 cases of car accident trauma, 2 of machine injury, 2 of fall injuries, 1 of ploughing machine injury, 1 of crushing injury, and 1 of spoke injury. The injuries accompanied with different degrees of infections, dead space and left huge soft-tissue defects after radical debridement (10.0 cm×9.0 cm-20.0 cm×18.0 cm) . Dead cavity was filled by the muscular flap, and the large area soft-tissue defects were repaired by chimeric multi-paddled perforator flap. Appearance, colour and texture of the flap, recurrence of infection and knee extension were recorded at 1, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months follow-up.Results:After the operation, all recipient sites had no hematoma and no infection. Eight flaps survived successfully, and donor sites healed primarily. One flap had partial necrosis because of a mechanical stretch of the perforator during the operation, then repaired by the ipsilateral chimeric perforator flap based on d-LCFA. One flap occurred vascular crisis on the second day after the surgery, and it was rescued and survived completely after surgical exploration. The other flap which repaired wound on hand had partial necrosis too, and then repaired with posterior interosseous artery perforator flap. The follow-up periods ranged from 2 to 32 (mean, 10.2) months. All flaps had satisfactory appearance and texture. Only linear scars left at the donor sites. There were no motion limitations at the hip and knee joints of the effected leg.Conclusion:The anteriolateral thigh perforator flap combined with multi-paddled and chimeric techniques can reduce donor site morbidities, simplify the anastomosis of blood vessel, and improve the appearance and effects of the recipient site. It is a feasible method in repairing severe soft tissue defects of limbs.
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Objective To investigate the feasibility and clinical effects of deep femoral artery third perforating artery perforator flap for reconstruction of soft tissue defect in lower limbs.Methods From September,2008 to October,2016,8 cases of soft tissue defect in lower limbs which were repaired by deep femoral artery third perforating artery perforator flap,including 4 cases of traffic accident trauma,2 cases of chronic ulcer,1 case of a fall injury,1 case of the scar after fracture operation.The area of wounds was 8.0 cm×7.0 cm-19.0 cm×8.0 cm.Seven patients were accompanied by different degrees of infections.The deep femoral artery third perforating artery perforator flap was designed to repair,including 5 cases of pedicled flaps and 3 cases of free flaps.The flap's appearance,color,texture,infection recurrence and the recovery of lower limb function were recorded at 1,3,6,9 and 12 months followed-up.Results One flap suffered partial necrosis due to cross-zone backflow disorder,the ipsilateral medial sural artery pedicled perforator flap was used to repair.The rest of the flaps survived successfully.Skin graft was used to close the donor site in 1 case,and other donor sites were closed directly.All patients had no postoperative hematoma or secondary infection.The followed-up periods ranged from 2 to 28 months (mean,8.1 months).All flaps had satisfied appearance and texture.There were no complications such as paresthesia and numbness in the donor sites.And no motion limitations in hip and knee joint of the operated leg.Conclusion Deep femoral artery third perforating artery perforator flap can be used for both free flaps and pedicled flaps,which is a feasible method to repair soft tissue defect in lower limbs.
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Objective@#To explore the efficiency and effect of radial collateral artery chimeric perforator flap combining a vascularized fragment of the distal humerus to reconstruct thumb complex defects.@*Methods@#5 cases of thumb complex tissue defects patients admitted to Xiangya Hospital of Central South University from June 2014 to October 2018. The patients were all male and aged from 35 to 63 years (average age was 47 years). There were 2 cases of right thumb and 3 cases of left thumb. The skin defect area was from 16.0 cm×4.0 cm to 3.5 cm×2.0 cm, and the bone defect length was 2-3 cm.All defects were reconstructed with radial collateral artery chimeric perforator flap combining a vascularized fragment of the distal humerus. The sizes of perforator flap were from 4 cm×2 cm to 18 cm×5 cm, and the sizes of bone were from 2.0 cm×0.6 cm×0.5 cm to 2.5 cm×1.0 cm×0.5 cm.The posterior branchial cutaneous of the arm was included in skin flap. 2 flaps underlied microdissect to defat. After fixing bone flap and finger/metacarpal bone with Kirschner wires, the radial accessory vessels were anastomosed with the radial vessels and cephalic vein at the nasopharyngeal fossa.All donor sites were closed directly.@*Results@#All flaps survived uneventfully. Kirschner wires were removed 4 to 6 weeks after operation. Postoperative follow-up ranged from 3 months to 4.5 years (average 19 months). All bone aps healed without union. Functions of thumb opposition and thumb to finger were all good. The hand function had excellent result in 3 cases and good in 2 cases. Sensory recovered to S4 in 1 case, S3 in 3 cases and S2 in 1 case. Evaluation of the appearance satisfaction of patients was 5 points in 3 cases and 4 points in 2 cases.@*Conclusions@#The radial collateral artery chimeric perforator flap combining a vascularized fragment of the distal humerus, which can reconstruct skin soft tissue and bone simultaneously, has good postoperative feeling and function recovery, and satisfactory appearance, and is an effective method to repair the defect of thumb complex tissue.
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To investigate the feasibility and clinical efficacy of free graft of vascularized iliac bone flap based on deep iliac circumflex vessels for the treatment of osteonecrosis of femoral head (ONFH). Methods Twelve cases of ONFH(13 hips) received free graft of vascularized iliac bone flap based on deep iliac circumflex ves-sels from April, 2016 to July, 2017.The average Harris score was (74.7±6.9) in the second stage and (68.6±9.2) in the third stage. After debriding the necrosis bone of the femoral head, the contralateral vascularized iliac bone flap had been harvested, and then implanted into the femoral head. The deep iliac circumflex artery and its accompanying vein were anastomosed with the transverse branch (or ascending branch) of the lateral circumflex femoral artery and con-comitant vein respectively. The herringbone brace was used for hip fixation for 3 weeks after operation. X-ray exami-nation (1, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months after operation, respectively) and Harris hip score (6 and 12 months after operation, respectively) were performed to evaluate the recovery results of the femoral head. Scores were recorded and analyzed by paired t-test.The difference was considered to statistically significant if P＜0.05. Results The patients were fol-lowed-up for 15(12-20)months. The iliac bone flap of 12 patients (13 hips) healed well. There was no necrosis and collapse in 12 hips, except 1 femoral head collapsed slightly because of weight loading too early. The average Harris score was (91.6±4.5) of the second stage and (84.8±6.1) of the third stage. Compared with scores before the operation, the difference was statistically significant (P＜0.05). Conclusion Free vascularized iliac bone grafting based on deep iliac circumflex vessels is an ideal treatment for ONFH head in middle and advanced stage.
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Objective@#To explore the feasibility and efficiency of deep inferior epigastric perforator flap (DIEP) based on individual design which was used for reconstructing the various types of soft tissue defects in extremities.@*Methods@#From September 2009 to October 2017, ninety three patients were included for respective analysis who presented with bone and tendon exposure or dead space, and reconstructed through individualized DIEP flaps in our department. We evaluated the appearance of donor site according to patients′satisfaction.@*Results@#Eight patients had pedicle DIEP flaps, 47 patients were treated with free traditional DIEP flaps, and 38 cases underwent with special forms of DIEP flaps. The special forms of DIEP flaps included 8 chimeric DIEP flaps, 13 dual skin paddles DIEP flaps, 12 microdissection DIEP flaps, 1 conjoined DIEP flap, 2 flow-through DIEP flaps, 1 mutipaddles chimeric DIEP flap and 1 microdissection dual skin paddles DIEP. The size of flap ranged from 7 cm×4 cm to 36 cm×11 cm. All of the donor sites were primarily closed.Most of flaps survived, only two cases suffered with necrosis due to vascular crisis. Those patients have been followed-up from 5 to 24 months (average 12.4 months). A good color and texture were achieved in most of recipient sites. 16.1% of patients needed the second debulking procedure. The function of abdominal wall was normal postoperatively. Transverse flap design was performed for 32 patients, oblique design for 46 patients, irregular design for 13 patients, and longitudinal design for 2 patients. The rate of excellent donor site appearance was 86.9% in the transverse designed flaps, 70.0% for the donor site with the oblique designed flap, and 37.5% for the donor site with the irregular designed flap.@*Conclusions@#The individualized DIEP flaps based on different wound characteristics are ideal approaches for reconstruction of various types of soft tissue defects in extremities.
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Objective@#To explore the feasibility of free circumflex scapular artery perforator flap for repairing the wounds of the limbs in children.@*Methods@#From April, 2010 to October, 2017. 39 cases of pediatric patients who suffered from skin and soft defects in the limbs with exposure of bone, joint or tendon were repaired by the circumflex scapular artery perforator flap.The flap size ranged from 6.0 cm×3.5 cm to 16 cm×14 cm. Doppler detection was used to determine the distribution of the descending, ascending and transverse branches of the circumflex scapular artery. The proper perforator flap type was selected according to the shape and the size of the wound.@*Results@#Thirty-seven flaps survived smoothly. Venous crisis occurred in one case and arterial crisis occurred in another case at the second postoperative day. Both flaps survived completely after exploration. All flaps were healed at the recipient sites. Delayed healing of the donor site wound occurred in two cases. All cases were followed up for 3 to 36 months (average 12 months), and the appearance and function of the recipient sites were satisfactory. Only linear scars remained in the donor sites.@*Conclusions@#The free circumflex scapular artery perforator flap is an ideal method to resurface the soft-tissue defects of extremities in children.
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Objective@#To explore the clinic effects of posterior tibial artery perforator pedicled propeller flaps for children heel injuries in spoke wheel accidents.@*Methods@#During August 2010 and May 2016, 12 children with spoke heel injuries were covered by posterior tibial artery perforator pedicled propeller flaps. The skin and soft tissue defects ranged from 4 cm×3 cm to 8 cm×3 cm. There were 4 cases with achilles tendon exposure, 8 cases with achilles tendon defect in distal, 6 cases with part of calcaneus defect. The range of achilles tendon defect were 2-5 cm(average 3.2 cm). The flap size ranged from 8.0 cm×3.0 cm to 12.5 cm×4.0 cm. In 6 cases, fascia tissue was harvested to fill the heel cavity. The donor sites were closed directly in 11 cases, and covered with skin grafting in one case.@*Results@#All flaps survived smoothly with no complications. All patients were followed up 3 months to 20 months (mean, 8.5 months). The color and appearance of the flaps were satisfactory, with no impact on wearing shoes and walking.@*Conclusions@#Posterior tibial artery perforator pedicled propeller flap which has reliable blood supply, less donor-site morbidities, cosmetic shape, simple operation and less postoperative complications is an ideal method for surfacing heel spoke injuries in children.
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Objective To investigate the feasibility and clinical effects of chimeric perforator flap based on the descending branch of lateral circumflex femoral artery (d-LCFA) for reconstructing the three-dimensional tissue defect in lower extremities. Methods From May, 2008 to June, 2017, 79 cases of soft tissue defects with dead space were repaired by using a d-LCFA chimeric perforator flap, in which 33 cases of car accident trauma, 12 cases of chronic tibial osteomyelitis, 10 cases of plowing machine injury, 9 cases of chronic calcaneal osteomyelitis, 6 cases of falling injury, 5 cases of crushing injury, 3 cases of spoke injury, and 1 case of suppurative knee arthritis. These patients were accompany with different degrees of infection and dead space after radical debridement. The dead cavity was filled by muscular flap, and perforator flap covered the superficial wound. Recording the flap 's appearance, color, texture, osteomyelitis recurrence and the patient 's knee extension at 1, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months followed-up. Results Seventy-five flaps survived without complications, and the donor sites were closed directly. All patients had no post-operative hematoma or secondary infection. Vascular crisis occurred in 2 days after the operation in 4 flaps, 1 flap had an arterial crisis on the second-postoperative-day, and the flap was necrotic after surgical exploration. The deep cir-cumflex iliac artery chimeric perforator flap was used for repairing. Three flaps with venous crisis during 48 h after operation, in which 2 flaps survived eventually after surgical exploration, and another flap was necrosis and repaired by skin graft. The followed-up periods ranged from 3 months to 30 months (mean, 9.7 months). All flaps had satisfied with appearance and texture. There were no osteomyelitis recurrence and any ranges of motion limitations in the hip and knee joints of the operated leg. Conclusion The chimeric perforator flap with d-LCFA merely anastomosed 1 group vascular pedicle can make the dead space be filled and cover the superficial wound simultaneously. It is an ideal option for reconstructing the skin defect with dead space in lower extremity, which can improve the quality of restoration of recipient site and reduce the damage of donor site.
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Objective To investigate the feasibility and efficacy of using the propeller flaps based on the terminal dorsal branch of proper palmar digital arteries for fingertip reconstruction.Methods From September,2013 to September,2016,25 fingers (25 patients) underwent fingertip reconstruction by using propeller flaps pedicled with the terminal dorsal branch of digital arteries.There were 18 males and 7 females with mean age of 33 years.The injured fingers requiring reconstruction included 13 index,6 middle,5 ring and 1 little fingers.The size of the propeller flaps:small paddles were 0.6 cm×0.4 cm-2.1 cm×0.4 cm;big paddles were 3.0 cm×1.3 cm-5.5 cm ×2.0 cm.The donor sites were closed directly in 16 cases,and skin graft appiled in 9 cases.Results Twenty-three cases fingertip defects were successfully reconstructed with this flap.One case of flap necrosis occurred,requiring secondary revision using a cross-finger flap.Donor sites healed without any complication.The mean follow-up period was 11.5 months (range:7-29 months).Fingers restored good shape and function.At 6 months after surgery,the 2-point discrimination value was 6.5 mm (range,6-10 mm).In 2 cases,protective sensation was successfully restored.The postoperative extension and flexion function was evaluated by the total active movement (TAM) system of finger joints:excellent in 20 fingers,good in 4 fingers and fair in 1 finger.The excellent and good rate was 96％.Conclusion The propeller flap based on the terminal dorsal branch of the proper palmar digital arteries to repair fingertip defect has advantages of achieving good function,appearance and minimized damage to the donor site,which is a effective method in reconstructing the fingertip defect.
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Objective To investigate the clinical efficiency of posterior tibial artery perforator pedicle propeller flaps for soft tissue coverage of the lower leg and foot defects.Methods From May,2008 to May,2016,30 cases with soft tissue defects of the lower leg and foot were cured by using posterior tibial artery perforator pedicle propeller flaps.The size of flaps ranged from 8.0 cm×4.0 cm to 24.0 cm×9.0 cm.Fascia flap was harvested in 5 cases,8 cases with deep fascia,and 6 cases with saphenous vein and saphenous nerve.The degree of flap rotation were from 160° to 180°.The donor sites were closed directly in 27 cases,and covered with skin grafting in 1 case,and with sequential flap in 2 cases.The shape,color,texture and satisfaction of the flaps were recorded during follow-up.Results Twenty-five flaps survived completely.The distal part of skin flap necrosis occurred in 3 cases and the wound healed well after dressing change.The distal part of flap necrosis occurred in 1 case,and free anterolateral thigh perforator flap was used to repair in the second phase.The complete necrosis of the flap occurred in 1 case,healing with scar after 2 months dressing treatment.All cases were followed-up from 4 months to 4.5 yeas (average 1.7 years).All flaps were smooth with a satis fied appearance and high patient satisfaction.Conclusion Posterior tibial artery perforator pedicle propeller flap which has reliable blood supply,less donor-site morbidities,cosmetic shape,simple operation and less postoperative complications,is an ideal method for soft tissue coverage of the lower leg and foot defects.