The medial sural artery perforator flap and its application in electrical injury to the hand

Abstract

We describe the use of a free medial sural artery perforator flap to reconstruct a complex composite defect to the dorsum of the right index finger following a low voltage electrical injury. The resulting defect was a 3.5 × 5 cm full thickness wound, with segmental tendon loss and loss of underlying periosteum. Due to both size and local vascular injury related to the mechanism, free tissue transfer was felt to be the most reliable option to resurface the composite defect in a single stage. The medial sural artery perforator flap, for reasons outlined below, was felt to be the best option: 1. Thin profile. 2. Vascularised fascia can be taken as a tongue, adjacent to the skin paddle: a gliding surface to prevent the tendon graft sticking to exposed bone. 3. Long pedicle: micro-anastomosis away from zone of injury. 4. Little donor site morbidity: can be closed directly (if <6 cm wide) and does not require sacrifice of any major blood vessel. 5. Can be harvested with nerve and tendon from the same wound. 6. Can include as little or as much tissue required and compared to other fasciocutaneous flaps matches the texture and thickness of the hand most closely. We describe the reconstruction of the composite defect on day 42 post-injury, following one prior debridement. This case highlights the versatility and suitability of the medial sural artery flap in the reconstruction of complex hand burns with resulting composite defects.