Objective To investigate the clinical feasibility of different types of the saphenous neuro-veno-fascial cutaneous flaps. Methods From June 1996 to October 2002, 18 cases of skin defects in the knee and the lower part of the limb were treated with proximally(4 cases) or distally(11 cases) based pedicles of saphenous neuro-venofascial cutaneous flap or crossleg flap (3 cases)according to the site of defects . The sizes of the flaps ranged from 4 cm×5 cm to 9 cm×20 cm. Results The flaps survived completely in 17 cases, distal 1/5 of the flap necrosed partially in 1 case because of vein drainage disturbance. The colour and texture of flaps were excellent, the appearance and function were satisfactory after a follow up of 6-24 months.Conclusion The saphenous neuro-veno-fascial cutaneous flap is an idea flap in repairing skin defects of the knee, the leg, the ankle and the foot because it is easy to be designed and dissected and it has reliable blood supply and preserved main artery. The relationship between the septal perforating branches of the tibial posteriorartery and survival size of flap need to be investigated further.
Objective To explore the application of the improved operative technique and clinical results of sural nerve nutritional vessel axial flap repairing the soft tissue defects of the lower leg,the ankle and the foot. Methods From January 1999 to Novenber 2004,the modified flaps were applied in 22 cases of soft tissue defect on the basis of anatomy of the intermusclar septum perforating branches of peroneal artery and the sural nerve nutritional vessel.There were 14 males and 8 females. Their ages ranged from 5 to 54 years.According to the position and size of the soft tissue defects, the sural nerve nutritional vessel flap pedicled with the perforating branch of the peroneal artery in the lower leg were desingned and obtained to repair the soft tissue defects of the lower leg,the ankle and the foot.The flap size ranged from 13cm×12cm to 30cm×20cm. The vessel pedicle of perforating branches ranged from 1.7cm to 3cm.The distribution of the vessel pedicle of perforating branches ranged from4.5cm to 8cm on the lateral malleolus.The diameters of vessel ranged from 1mm to 1.2mm. Results The flap pedicle with the terminal branch of the peroneal artery was used in 13 cases, the other branches were used in 9 cases. Among of 22 cases,the sural nerve were anastomosed with the acceptor sensory nerve in 4 cases. The skin sense were satisfactory after 1 year of operationnd 2-point discrimination was 10-13mm. All flaps survived completely in 22 cases. The outline andfunction were satisfactory during 6-18 months follow-up. Conclusion The blood supply of this flap is reliable. Flap elevation is easy. The size of flap is large enough to repair skin defects of the lower leg, the ankle and the foot.
Objective To study the effect of dexamethasone to protect flaps from an ischemia-reperfusion injury and elucidate its mechanism of regulating the death course of the neutrophils.Methods The rats were randomly divided into 3 groups.The vein of the rat was clamped for 8 h after the flap had formed. Group A: the normal flap; Group B: the saline control flap; Group C: the treatment flap with dexamethasone. The survival area of the flaps was measured at 7 days; the apoptotic and necrotic neutrophils,tumor necrosis factor α （TNF-α）, and interleukin 10 （IL-10） concentrations were measured. Results The flap survival areas in Groups A and C were larger than those in Group B. The apoptotic neutrophils in Group B were fewer than those in Groups A and C on the 1st and 3rd days after operation; however, they were more in number in Group B than in groups A andC on the 6th day. The necrotic cells in Group B were more in number than those in Groups A and C. In Group B, the plasma TNF-α concentration reached the maximum level at 1 h,while the IL-10 level reached the lowest 3 h after the reperfusion. In Group C, the TNF-α concentration was lower than that in Group B and decreased dramatically at 6 h. The IL-10 concentration was the lowest at 1 h, and increased rapidly at 3 h. Thus, ischemia reperfusion could injure the flaps, probably through the abnormal action of the neutrophils, such as the disordered secretion of the cytokines and abnormal death course of the neutrophils. Conclusion Dexamethasone can protect the flap from an ischemia-reperfusion injury by its regulation for the neutrophil function.
Objective To investigate the appl ication and cl inical result of flap in the repair of wounds with Achilles tendon exposure. Methods Between May 2006 and May 2010, 21 patients with Achilles tendon skin defects were treated with microsurgical reconstruction. There were 15 males and 6 females, aged 7-63 years with a median of 34 years. The defect causesincluded sport injury in 4 cases, wheel twist injury in 7 cases, crush injury in 5 cases, chronic ulcer in 3 cases, and Achilles tendon lengthening in 2 cases. The areas of wounds with Achilles tendon exposure ranged from 2 cm × 2 cm to 10 cm × 8 cm. After debridement, wounds were repaired with the medial malleolus fasciocutaneous flap (5 cases), sural neurocutaneous vascular flap (8 cases), foot lateral flap (2 cases), foot medial flap (2 cases), and peroneal artery perforator flap (4 cases). The size of the flaps ranged from 3 cm × 3 cm to 12 cm × 10 cm. The donor sites were either sutured directly or covered with intermediate spl it thickness skin grafts. The Achilles tendon rupture was sutured directly (2 cases) or reconstructed by the way of Abraham (2 cases). Results All flaps survived and wounds healed by first intention except 2 flaps with edge necrosis. Twenty-one patients were followed up 6-18 months (mean, 12 months). The flaps had good appearance and texture without abrasion or ulceration. The walking pattern was normal, and the two point discrimination was 10-20 mm with an average of 14 mm. The Ameritan Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) Ankle-Hindfoot Scale assessment revealed that 10 patients had an excellent result, 7 had a good result, 3 had a fair result, and 1 had a poor result with an excellent and good rate of 81.0%. Fourteen cases could l ift the heels with power; 5 cases could l ift the heels without power sl ightly; and 2 cases could not l ift the heels. Conclusion The wounds with Achilles tendon exposure should be repaired as soon as possible by appropriate flap according to the condition of wound.
Objective To introduce the current situation and prospect of the tissue-autografting, such as the flaps, muscle flaps, and bone(periosteum) flaps, andits application in reparative and reconstructive surgery. Methods Based on our own experiences and combined with the review of the literature at home and abroad, the latest development of the tissue autografting was analyzed. Results The femoral anterolateral flap, latissimus dorsi muscle flap, upper arm lateral flap, scap flap, temporal fascial flap and perforator flap are the frequently used in clinic. Of all the perforator flap had such advantages as better repair of the recipient sites and less damage of the donor site. Beacause of more advantages of the free myocutaneous flap transplantation, it substituted thefree muscle transplantation. The atissimus dorsi muscle myocutaneous flap was the most frequently used in the transplant of the vessels, with preserved function of the thoracodorsal nerve or with repair of the defected tissues by the bridge. The most common donor sites of the bone were ribs，iliac bone，fibula andscapula, so the severe bone defects or the bone nonunion, femoral head ischemic necrosis, and the bone graft from the tumor removal could be managed with the bones from those sites. Conclusion The autografting in repairing the tissue defect has become one of the most important surgical techniques in reparative and reconstructive surgery.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate clinical result of reconstructed thumb and finger with a free hallux nail flap(HNF) and frozen-phalanx-joint-tendon-sheath composite tissue allograft in 270 cases. METHODS: The patients were followed up with reexamination in the ambulant clinic, communication, X-ray photography, lab-examination, isotope 99mTc MDP and reoperation. The data were analyzed by statistics or proved by clinical observation, which were followed up for five years in average (ranging from five months to sixteen years). RESULTS: Enveloping the allogeneic finger composite tissue with self-HNF and pieces of phalanx of great toe, it could reconstruct a thumb or finger with good contour and nutrition. The excellent rate of opposition function of the reconstructed thumbs was 71.91%. The sense of the fingers recovered after 3 months to 8 months of operation. Two-point discrimination was 3 mm to 15 mm. The junction between implanted allo-phalanges and auto-phalanges could be hastened by implanted with vascularized autogenous phalanx pieces in the HNF. The isotope 99mTc MDP was used to take X-ray photography in 24 cases for four months to 9 years and seven months, which showed that the blood vessels grew into the allo-phalanges. However, the Charcot’s arthropathy of allogeneic joints and bony absorption still could be seen in some cases. That might be concerned with chronic abrasion of joint or chronic rejection of host to graft. CONCLUSION: The operation is fit for repairing the defect of thumb or finger in any degree. The implanted vascularized self-phalanx pieces can promote bone union, but it can not prevent the allogeneic joints from arthropathy or bone absorption
Objective To assess the sensory restoration after the greater auricular nerve is implanted into the flap to repair the buccal defect in rabbits. Methods Fifteen Japanese white rabbits, weighing 2.0-2.5 kg, were randomly divided into the experimental group (nerve implanted), the control group (nerve unimplanted), and the normal group (without any treatment). In the experimental and the control group, circular defects (2.0 cm×2.0 cm) were constructed in the left cheek of the rabbits. Then, the cervicalflaps (4.5 cm×2.5 cm) were transferred and the great auricular nerve was implanted into the defects in the experimental group, and the flaps without any nervewere implanted into the defects in the control group. The subjects in the normal group were given no treatment. After 6 months, the nerve discharge, the HE staining, and the immunohistochemical method were used to assess the regeneration of the nerve fibers. Results The nerve discharge and the percentage of the different kinds of the nerve fibers in the experimental group (124.2±33.8 roots) were not statistically different from those in the normal group （138.4±20.4 roots，Pgt;0.05）, but significantly different from those in the control group（18.8±5.6 roots,Plt;0.05）. In the center of the flap in the experimental group, the receptive field of the nerve fibers was identical to theimplanting approach of the greater auricular nerve. The HE staining and the immunohistochemical staining showed that the density of the regenerated fibers in the center of the flap in the experimental group reached the normal level.There was no regenerated fibers in the control group. Conclusion The great auricular nerve implanted into the cervical flaps has a good effect on reconstruction of the buccal defect in rabbits.
A combined rotational flap was used to repair large scar on the face. The flap was removed from the lateral part of the neck, face and postaural region, between the zygmatic arch and clavicle. The dissection was carried out on the superfic ial of SMAS and platysmus M. Twentysix (12 males and 14 females) were reported. The age ranged from 5 to 28 years. The flap was survived completely in 19 cases. Small area at the margin of the flap was necrotic, which was reducing appeared in the postaural cular region in 6 cases. By reducing the size of the postaural cual component of the flap, necrosis never occured. Among these cases, 11 were followed up for 6 to 14 months. The results were satisfactory. The combined flap was classified as randomized flap because it had no axial and it could be used to cover a large area of skin defect. The color, thickness and quality of the flaps were all close to the normal facial skin. It was considered especially suitable for repair the large wound on the medial twothirds of the cheek.
From March 1991 to October 1993, 6 the latissimus dorsi M. was transferred to reconstruct the flexor of the elbow following the injury of brachial plexus in 12 cases (8 males and 4 females). The average age was 31-year-old (6to 45-year-old). The patients were followed up for six months to two years. All of musculocutaneous flaps were survived. The contour of the upper arm was satisfactory. In 8 cases, the muscle strength was more than grade 4 and the active motion of the elbow was 135 degrees in flexion and 10 degrees in extension. The elbow could lift the load of l0kg. In 2 cases, the muscle strength was grade 4 and the active movement was 25 degrees in flexion and 25 degrees in extension. On 90 degrees flexion, the elbow could lift the load of 3kg. In 2 cases, the muscle strength was grade 3 and the active movement of elbow was 100 degrees in flexion 25 degrees in extension. Following the irreversible injury of the brachial plexus, the atrophy of the muscles was obvious. After the transfer of musculocutaneous flap, the circumference of the arm was increased while the tenseness of the skin was decreased. This faciliated the movement of the transferred muscle, improved the appearance of the upper limb and was convenient to observe the blood supply of the flap. When the brachial plexus was injuried at the root level, the latissimus dorsi M. was atrophied, after transfer of the nerve to the muscle, the function of the muscle recovered, then the tranferred muscle could be transferred to reconstruct the flexor of the elbow.
Objective To investigate the basic mechanism of venous flow in reverseflow island flap. Methods Recent relevant literature on the mechanism of venous reverse flow in reverseflow island flap wereextensively reviewed. Results The mechanism of venous reverse flow was a multifactorial phenomenon. “Communicating and collateral by pass route” and “incompetent valve route” were two theories. Conclusion The two routes of venous reverse flow in reverse-flow island flap coexistand complement each other.