Repair of skin and soft tissue defects of vulva, vagina, and buttock with internal pudendal artery perforator " angel wing" island flaps in six cases

Abstract

From November 2015 to July 2017, six patients with skin and soft tissue defects of vulva, vagina, and buttock after resection of vulvar tumors were hospitalized in our unit. All patients were female, aged 45-70 years. Among them, four patients had bilateral defects, and two patients had unilateral defect. The defect area on each side ranged from 6 cm×4 cm to 12 cm×6 cm. Internal pudendal artery perforator " angel wing" island flaps were used to repair and reconstruct the defects. The area of flaps ranged from 7 cm×5 cm to 14 cm×7 cm. The donor sites were sutured directly. All 10 flaps of 6 patients survived. Two patients had local incision infection 3 days after operation. One of the two patients was healed 2 weeks after dressing change, and the other one underwent debridement and suture 1 week after dressing change and was healed 1 week after surgery. Follow-up for 6-12 months after surgery showed no recurrence of tumors, no eversion of vagina, better shape of vulva in bilateral reconstruction cases, and slightly worse symmetry in unilateral reconstruction cases. The skin of the reconstructed area was soft, with sensations of pain, temperature, and touch recovered in varying degrees. The distance of a two-point discrimination was 20-30 mm. Linear scars were left in the flap donor sites, with no impact on squatting or striding. In vaginal examination, 1.5 to 2.0 fingers could be inserted in bilateral reconstruction cases, while 2.0 to 3.0 fingers could be inserted in unilateral reconstruction cases. The anus functioned well during defecation.