ABSTRACT
Objective:To evaluate the surgical effect of repairing soft tissue defect of hand and foot with medial gastrocnemius fascia flap combined with skin graft.Methods:From January, 2018 to June, 2019, 10 patients were treated with transfers of free medial gastrocnemius fascia flaps combined with skin graft to repair soft tissue defect of hand and foot. The size of free fascial flap was 5.0 cm×8.0 cm-12.0 cm×15.0 cm. After successful transfer on the wound, the skin was grafted onto the fascial flap, and the donor site was sutured directly. The appearance and function of the recipient and donor sites were observed and the effect of the operation was evaluated. Sensory recovery was assessed by the standard set by British Medical Research Council (BMRC) at the last follow-up.Results:All the free medial gastrocnemius fascia flap survived. After 6-10 days of granulation tissue growing, the skin grafts were transferred and all survived. All patients entered follow-up for 3-9 months, with an average of 7.5 months. The tissue at the recipient sites were soft and wear-resistant without swelling or ulceration. According to the self-designed evaluation system of soft tissue defect reconstruction, 10 patients had score from 68 to 92 (average, 75.2) . At the last follow-up, sensory recovery was assessed by BMRC, 7 cases were excellent and 3 cases were good.Conclusion:The repair of hand and foot soft tissue defect by the free medial gastrocnemius fascia flap combined with skin graft has advantages in constancy of vascular anatomy of free fascia tissue, long vascular pedicle and for repair of various types of hand and foot defects. Skin of the recipient area is soft with good appearance without swelling after the reconstruction of fascia flap. It is a method of treatment in repair of soft tissue defect of hand and foot by avoiding the thinning of a flap in the second procedure.