ABSTRACT
Objective:To investigate the clinical effect of vascular pressurisation and super reflux on free anterolateral thigh flap (ALTF).Methods:From January 2017 to September 2021, the Department of Hand and Foot Microsurgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical College had treated 31 cases of soft tissue defects of the limbs. The patients were 23 males and 8 females, aged 4-76 years old at 40 years old in average. All the patients received transfer of free ALTFs carrying 2 groups of blood vessels of the descending and oblique branches of lateral circumflex femoral artery (LCFA). The vascular pressurisation and super-reflux techniques were applied in wound repair. Soft tissue defect area 7 cm × 5 cm-22 cm × 10 cm. The sizes of flaps were 8 cm×6 cm-23 cm×11 cm. All the donor sites were sutured directly. Fifteen patients had inner flap pressurisation (or super-reflux) and the rest of 16 patients had external flap pressurisation (or super-reflux). After surgery, scheduled follow-ups were conducted through outpatient clinic, telephone and WeChat reviews or home visits to evaluate the efficacy of wound repair.Results:All the 31 flaps survived, except 2 flaps that had mild infection after surgery. The wounds of donor and recipient sites healed completely. The time of follow-up was 3-55 months. The skin of flaps achieved good texture, colour, lustre and appearance. TPD of the flaps ranged 7-12 mm.Conclusion:Vascular pressurisation and super reflux technique are stable and reliable in the clinical application of free ALTF to repair soft tissue defects of limbs.