ANATOMICAL STUDY OF THE PERFORATORS OF THE FRONT OF THE THIGH AND ITS CLINICAL APPLICATIONS

Abstract

Throughout the years, the lower limb in general and thigh specifically remained the largest and preferred donor site in the human body for flap harvest. Reconstructive surgery could be traced back to the sixteenth century and surgeons have competed through history to attain reliable and versatile tissue transfer. However, the dilemma of good flap survival with minimal thickness persisted to provoke anatomists and surgeons to search for methods to secure the vitality of thin flaps. This was made possible with the emergence of the concept of “Perforator flaps” between the 1980s and 1990s. It is for these reasons that sound knowledge of the vascular anatomy of the human integument provides the framework for successful flap elevation. Therefore, it is pivotal for the reconstructive surgeon to have a proper understanding of the vascular anatomy of the skin. This study considered the vasculature of the whole anterior thigh area including the different patterns of perforators as regards their origin and distribution from the parent vessel. It also considered to compare between different regions in the whole area.