Plastic and reconstructive surgery
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Plast. Reconstr. Surg. · Feb 2005
The innervated anterolateral thigh flap: anatomical study and clinical implications.
During the past 20 years, the neural anatomy of many flaps has been investigated, although no extensive studies have been reported yet on the anterolateral thigh flap. The goal of this study was to describe the sensory territories of the nerves supplying the anterolateral thigh flap with dissections on fresh cadavers and with local anesthetic injections in living subjects. The sensate anterolateral thigh flap is typically described as innervated by the lateral cutaneous femoral nerve. ⋯ Alternatively, a large anterolateral thigh flap can be raised with this multiple innervation. This can be helpful if one wants to harvest the flap under local anesthesia. Sensate bilobed flaps can be harvested when dual innervated flaps are required.
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Plast. Reconstr. Surg. · Jan 2005
Case ReportsClinical applications of free soleus and peroneal perforator flaps.
Clinical applications of two free lateral leg perforator flaps are described: a free soleus perforator flap that is based on the musculocutaneous perforator vessels from one of the three main arteries in the proximal lateral lower leg, and a free peroneal perforator flap that is based on the septocutaneous or direct skin perforator vessels from the peroneal artery in the distal and middle thirds of the lateral lower leg. The authors applied free soleus perforator flaps to 18 patients and free peroneal perforator flaps to five patients with soft-tissue defects. The recipient site was the great toe in 14 patients, the hand and fingers in five patients, the leg in two patients, and the upper arm and the jaw in one patient each. ⋯ All flaps, except for the flap in one patient in the peroneal perforator flap series, survived completely. Advantages of these flaps are that there is no need to sacrifice any main artery in the lower leg, and there is minimal morbidity at the donor site. For patients with a small to medium soft-tissue defect, these free perforator flaps are useful.
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Changes in hematopoiesis that occur in humans after a burn injury may have important effects on morbidity and mortality. In patients with a variety of severe diseases, the presence of erythroblasts in peripheral blood is known to be indicative of a poor prognosis. However, the prognostic significance of erythroblasts in peripheral blood of burn patients has not yet been estimated. ⋯ Erythroblasts were detected for the first time on average 10 +/- 4 days (median, 6 days) after admission and 13 +/- 6 days (median, 7 days) before death. Detection of erythroblasts in burn patients is of high prognostic power with regard to in-hospital mortality, providing physicians with a strong prognostic method with which to identify seriously threatened patients. It seems attractive to think about an incorporation of erythroblasts into further refinements of burn scores.
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Plast. Reconstr. Surg. · Jan 2005
Case ReportsThe use of anterolateral thigh perforator flaps in chronic osteomyelitis of the lower extremity.
From April of 2000 to May of 2003, 28 consecutive patients with chronic osteomyelitis of the lower extremity underwent surgical debridement and reconstruction with anterolateral thigh perforator flaps (six cases were combined with vastus lateralis muscle flaps). All wounds were open for a minimum period of 6 weeks (average, 24.7 months; range, 6 weeks to 52 months). The average patient age was 42.8 years (range, 18 to 71 years), there were 21 male and seven female patients, and the average follow-up period was 18.2 months (range, 5 to 41 months). ⋯ No debulking procedure was necessary in any case. Although the muscle flap is known to provide superior vascular supply, the type of flap used for coverage seems to be less critical in the final outcome, provided that total debridement and obliteration of dead spaces are achieved. A well-vascularized anterolateral thigh perforator flap was successfully used to combat infection and bring stability to wounds with chronic osteomyelitis.