Salvage of a through-knee amputation level using a free fillet of sole flap

✍ Scribed by Leo Peter van der Wey; Theo W. Polder

• Book ID: 102509778
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1993
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 274 KB
• Volume: 14
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0738-1085
• DOI: 10.1002/micr.1920140913

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

A young adult male sustained a compound crural fracture with a 15 cm defect of tibia and fibula, and an extensive soft‐tissue loss of the lower leg and knee joint. A free fillet of sole flap was raised on the amputated foot and transferred to the soft‐tissue defect around the femoral condyles in order to prevent an above‐knee amputation. Intact vascularisation and sensation of the flap were secured by microsurgical anastomoses of the popliteal and posterior tibial vessels and the sciatic and tibial nerves. The patient was rehabilitated rapidly with a prosthesis. At the 12‐month follow‐up, he demonstrated excellent „foot”︁ sensibility, stable soft‐tissue coverage of the stump, and an optimal functional result. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss Inc.