Propeller DICAP flap for a large defect on the back—Case report and review of the literature

Abstract

Reconstruction of large soft tissue defects of the back is a challenging problem. Large defects of the back were reconstructed with multiple random pattern or local pedicled muscle (and skin graft) or musculocutaneous flaps. The clinical use of perforator flaps has demonstrated that harvesting of flaps on a single perforator is possible for reconstruction of large defects. We present a 71-year-old male with a lesion on his left mid back that measured 10 × 10 × 4 cm(3) . Biopsy of the lesion was consistent with dermatofibrosarcoma protruberans. Wide local excision of the lesion with 4 cm margin was performed. The soft tissue defect, ~20 cm in diameter, was reconstructed with a large propeller dorsal intercostal artery perforator (DICAP) flap. The DICAP flap measured 40 × 15 cm(2) based on a single perforator-lateral branch of dorsal rami of the seventh posterior intercostal artery on the right side. The perforator flap was elevated at the subfascial level and transposed 180° into the defect. The donor site on the right side of the back was closed directly. This case illustrates the size of the propeller DICAP flap that could be safely harvested on a single perforator from the dorsal rami of the posterior intercostal artery. To our knowledge this is the largest reported pedicled perforator flap harvested on a single perforator on the posterior trunk.