Repair of the skin and soft tissue defect on upper calf with the lateral popliteal artery perforator flap

Abstract

To explore the feasibility and effect of the lateral popliteal artery perforator flap in repairing the skin and soft tissue defect on upper calf. The position and course of the perforators were confirmed with the color Doppler ultrasound. The flap was designed with the lateral popliteal artery perforator as the pedicle artery to repair the skin and soft tissue defect on upper calf according to the shape and size of the wound. From January 2010 to January 2014,10 patients with traumatic upper calf skin and soft tissue defect were admitted. The wound size ranged from 3 cm ×2 cmto9 cm×6 cm, and the flap size ranged from3 cm×3 cm to 10 cm×8 cm. The wounds at donor sites were closed directly in 4 cases and were covered with split thickness skin graft in 6 cases. All flaps survived completely. Surgical incisions and wounds at donor sites and recipient sites healed primarily. All cases were followed up for 6-15 months (10 months on average) with good flaps color, texture and shape. The lateral popliteal artery perforator flap has reliable blood supply and is easily performed. It is one of the optional methods for repairing wound of the upper calf.