Clinical effects of extra-long lateral femoral supercharged perforator flaps in repair of foot and ankle wounds

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the clinical effects of extra-long lateral femoral supercharged perforator flaps in repair of ankle and foot wounds. Methods: From March 2014 to October 2018, 16 patients with foot and ankle injuries were admitted to our hospital and left large area of wounds on foot and ankle after emergency treatment. There were 13 males and 3 females, with age of 27 to 60 years. The area of the wounds ranged from 14 cm×10 cm to 40 cm×17 cm. The wounds were repaired with extra-long lateral femoral supercharged perforator flaps. The widths of flaps in 8 patients were longer than 8 cm, and the bilobed flaps were designed to repair the wounds. The area of the flaps ranged from 12 cm×5 cm to 40 cm×9 cm. During the operation, 54 perforators were detected, with an average of 3.2 perforators in each flap, and 36 source arteries of perforators were detected. The blood vessel trunk of 15 patients was descending branch of the lateral femoral circumflex artery, and their supercharged mode was anastomosis of the bulky perforator of descending branch of the lateral femoral circumflex artery with the oblique branch of the lateral femoral circumflex artery and/or medial femoral circumflex artery or the descending branch of superficial illiac circumflex artery. The blood vessel trunk of 1 patient was oblique branch of the lateral femoral circumflex artery, and the supercharged mode of the patient was anastomosis of the oblique branch of the lateral femoral circumflex artery with the bulky perforator of the descending branch of the lateral femoral circumflex artery. The wounds were covered with the flaps after supercharged blood vessel anastomosis, and blood vessels in the donor sites were anastomosed with those in the recipient sites. The donor site was sutured directly. The survival of the flap after the operation and healing time of the wound, and the flap condition, the two-point discrimination distance of flap in patients who were reconstructed with sensation, the recovery of the ankle function, and the appearance of the donor site during follow-up were recorded. Results: A total of 17 flaps in 16 patients were designed, including 8 bilobed flaps and 9 non-lobulated flaps. Sixteen flaps in 15 patients survived. Vascular crisis occurred in the flap of one patient, and the flap survived when the vascular crisis was relieved by the second operation. The healing time of foot and ankle wounds ranged from 12 to 90 days. All the lateral femoral donor sites healed completely. During follow-up of 8 to 48 months, flaps in 2 patients were slightly bloated and were trimmed in 6 months after the operation. The other flaps were with good appearance, soft texture, good elasticity, and no rupture or ulceration. The two-point discrimination distances of flaps ranged from 7 to 16 mm in 8 patients who were reconstructed with sensation, and the other flaps recovered protective sensation. The flexion and extension function of ankle joint recovered well, and the walking function was not affected significantly. All donor sites formed linear scar, with no deep tissue infection such as osteomyelitis. Conclusions: The application of extra-long lateral femoral supercharged perforator flaps to repair the large area of wounds in foot and ankle can significantly reduce damage to donor sites and has advantages of rich blood supply and good safety, thus it has satisfactory clinical effects.