Tibialis anterior turnover flap coverage of exposed tibia in a severely burned patient

Abstract

A case report of a longitudinally split tibialis anterior turnover flap reconstruction of an exposed tibia in a burn patient is presented here. The patient had sustained deep partial- and fullthickness burns to 70 per cent of his total body surface area (TBSA), resulting in an exposed left patella and upper two-thirds of the left tibia. Although full thickness loss of skin occurred on the left lower leg, no muscle trauma was sustained. Reconstruction was therefore deemed possible using local muscle tissue to provide transposed flap coverage. A gastrocnemius muscle flap was used to cover the exposed patella and superior aspect of the tibia. A portion of the tibialis anterior muscle was split longitudinally and turned over medially to cover the remaining exposed tibia. The advantages offered by this infrequently used flap include technical simplicity, reliability, minimal donor site dysfunction and the allowance of future use of the soleus flap. The tibialis anterior turnover flap may therefore have wide applicability for reconstruction of the severely burned lower extremity.