Modified total thigh musculocutaneous flap: 'operation of last resort' for massive pressure ulcers.

Massive bilateral pressure ulcers of dependent areas may complicate spinal cord injuries. These may be life threatening to patients and challenging for reconstructive surgeons. In massive recurrent ulcers, local tissue is either inadequate or previously exhausted. The total thigh musculocutaneous flap is an operation of last resort; we present a new variation of this procedure and a case of life threatening pressure ulcers with underlying osteomyelitis. A paraplegic patient had recurrent, extensive, bilateral pressure areas with some preserved tissue bridges. The nature of the pressure areas and lack of local options in this patient required modification of previously described total thigh flaps. An extended total thigh flap was partially de-epithelialised to fill the extensive sacral defect and a tunnelled extension was fashioned to cover the contralateral trochanteric defect. The timing of surgery was determined by balancing pre-operative nutritional optimisation against life-threatening drug resistance of infective organisms. The total thigh flap can close massive bilateral pressure ulcers. Modifications are presented which preserve viable local tissue and demonstrate the versatility of this technique. It remains a 'last-resort' salvage procedure.

Outcome of split-thickness skin grafts after external beam radiotherapy.

There are many technical considerations in patients who require radiotherapy after oncologic reconstruction. A traditional tenet is to avoid skin grafts in this setting. However, this is not always avoidable. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the wound healing and functional outcome of patients in the authors' institution whose skin grafts were subsequently irradiated. A retrospective analysis of all patients treated with split-thickness skin grafts and postoperative radiotherapy at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center from 1995 to 2002 was performed. Parameters evaluated included indications for skin graft, defect size, time to postoperative radiotherapy, total radiotherapy dose, delays and interruptions in radiotherapy, wound complications, and the need for further skin grafting. There were 30 patients (23 men, 7 women) with a mean defect size of 152 +/- 132 cm2. All split-thickness skin grafts were placed on healthy vascular tissue beds. In most instances (67%) skin grafts were used to cover muscle flaps. Median time to initial radiotherapy after grafting was 8 weeks (range, 4-60 weeks). There was 1 delay and 4 interruptions in radiotherapy treatment. There were 2 partial skin graft losses (<20%) after radiation that healed with conservative treatment. There was 1 complete skin graft loss after radiotherapy that required regrafting. Split-thickness skin grafts can tolerate postoperative radiotherapy without significant complications. Postoperative external beam radiation can begin as early as 6 to 8 weeks after skin grafting. If the requirement for postoperative radiotherapy is known, split-thickness grafts should ideally be placed on well-vascularized muscle beds. Minor skin graft loss resulting from postoperative radiotherapy can usually be treated conservatively without the need for additional surgery.

Timing of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube placement after cervical esophageal reconstruction with free jejunal transfer.

The timing of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube placement in patients who undergo cervical esophageal reconstruction using free jejunal transfer is controversial. The purpose of this study was to review the authors' experience with pharyngeal reconstruction using free jejunal transfer to establish useful guidelines for enteral tube placement. A retrospective analysis of all patients treated with free jejunal autografts for reconstruction of cervical esophageal defects during a 12-year period was performed. A total of 105 patients underwent 108 esophageal reconstructions using these techniques. Sixty-three patients (60%) did not have enteral tube placement at any time, whereas 42 patients had gastrostomy or PEG tubes placed preoperatively (n = 12), intraoperatively (n = 8), or postoperatively. The majority of patients were able to resume per-oral feeds and avoid long-term tube feeds (86.7%). Most patients who underwent preoperative or intraoperative enteral tube feed placement had them removed postoperatively (82%). Only patients who required postoperative placement of feeding tubes required prolonged feeding tube support. In conclusion, most patients who undergo esophageal reconstruction using free jejunal transfer recover the ability to swallow and maintain adequate nutrition without supplemental enteral tube feeds. Preoperative gastrostomy tube placement is not necessary in most patients unless severe preoperative nutritional compromise is present.