Free Transplantation Of Anterolateral Thigh Flap For Repair Of Soft Tissue Defects In The Limbs

Objective:to explore the clinical application of free transplantation ofanterolateral thigh flap for repair of soft tissue defects in the limbs.Methods:from2008to2010,28cases with soft tissue defects in the limbswere treated by free transplantation of anterolateral thigh flap.the28patientshave29flaps.the patients aged from4to55years old,25male and3femalepatients. There were5soft tissue defects in the forearms and palms(one wasring-shaped defect in the forearm),1defect in the leg and22in the feet whichhad14in the acrotarsiums,3in the medial malleolus,3in the far end of foot,1in the extramalleolus and1in the heel.all the soft tissue defects exposed theskeleton and tendon.the area of defects ranged from6cm×3cm to38cm×13cm,the flaps were7cm×4cm to33cm×13cm.17flaps in the16paintswere anastomosed1artery and1vein,12flaps in the other12patients wereanastomosed1artery and2vein.Results:19flaps survived perfectly,4flaps had arterial crisis which3flapssurvived after anastomosing the artery again and1flap failed to survive andwas replaced by skin island flap supplied by the vascular axis of sural nerve,3flaps had venous crisis which1flap survived after anastomosing the vein againand2flaps survived again after changing dressings and skin graft,2flapssurvived with partial necrosis and were healed by local flaps.the skin graft ofdonor site in1patient failed to survive and the donor site survived after theother skin graft.all the cases were followed up from6months to4years, all theflaps survive well,and are satisfactory with restoration of protectivesensation,all the donor sites survive well without big scars,sensory disfunctionand dyskinesia. Conclusion:Free transplantation of anterolateral thigh flap is a goodmethod for repair of soft tissue defects in the limbs.