Sensory Disturbance of the Lower Extremity after Sural Artery Flap Elevation.

Kaoru Tada,Masashi Matsuta,Mika Nakada,Hiroyuki Tsuchiya,Seigo Suganuma,Atsuro Murai,Paulo Adriano Schwingel

doi:10.1155/2021/8886063

Abstract

Purpose Elevation of the sural artery flap with the sural nerve is associated with donor-site morbidities, such as postoperative sensory disturbance of the lower extremity. We evaluated the sensory disturbance of the lower extremity after elevation of the sural artery flap. Methods This study included 7 patients who underwent surgery using the sural artery flap. The sensory disturbances immediately after surgery and at present were evaluated on a 10-point scale. The influences of surgery on activities of daily living and patient satisfaction were also evaluated. Results The sensory disturbance was 4.48 immediately after surgery and 2.24 presently, and the difference between the timepoints was not statistically significant. The influence of surgery on activities of daily living was 2.30, and the patient satisfaction was 7.90. Conclusion It may be necessary to consider the sural artery flap, which does not include the sural nerve, to avoid unnecessary complications. When it is unavoidable to use the sural artery flap, including the sural nerve, it is important to thoroughly inform patients beforehand about the postsurgery sensory disturbance in the lower extremities.

Highlights

We investigated the sensory disturbance of the lower extremity in patients who were treated with the sural artery flap for soft tissue defects
Since the development of the sural artery flap, it remains debatable whether the sural nerve should be included in the flap
Donski et al developed the prototype of the sural artery flap, defining it as a “distally based fasciocutaneous flap from the sural region,” and reporting that the sural nerve should not be included in the flap, if possible [9]

Summary

Introduction

Introduction e sural artery flap is generally elevated with the sural nerve and its accompanying artery, as well as the lesser saphenous vein and its accompanying artery Since this flap is a pedicled flap that does not require vascular anastomosis and is easy to elevate, it is widely used to treat soft tissue defects in the lower limbs and feet; to date, there are numerous studies that report the use of the sural artery flap [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]. Sensory disturbance due to sacrifice of the sural nerve has not been considered as a major complication [3, 7] In this case report, we investigated the sensory disturbance of the lower extremity in patients who were treated with the sural artery flap for soft tissue defects

Methods

Conclusion