A free medialis pedis mini-flap pedicled on medial branch of deep branch of the medial plantar artery to repair the soft tissue defect of the finger / 中华骨科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To observe the results of free medialis pedis mini-flap pedicled on medial branch of deep branch of the medial plantar artery to repair a soft tissue defect of finger. Methods The mini-flap designed on the medial side of the foot pedicled on the medial branch of deep branch of medial plantar artery was used to repair the soft tissue defect of finger or the degloved injury of the finger combined with second toe flap, furthermore, the vascular pedicle of flap was anastomosed with the digital artery and dorsal vein respectively. 13 fingers of 11 cases, which included 10 fingers of 8 cases of male and 3 fingers of 3 cases of female with an average of 32 years ranging from 18 to 58 years, were performed 13 free medialis pedis mini-flaps transplantation. Eight free medialis pedis mini-flaps were used to repair the soft tissue defect of the finger, and 5 free medialis pedis mini-flaps combined with the second toe composite flap were used to reconstruct the degloved finger. Results All the patients were followed up on an average of 21 months ranging from 3 months to 5.5 years. The maximal area of flaps was 5 cm?4 cm, and the minimal was 2.5 cm?3 cm. 12 of the 13 free medialis pedis mini-flaps were survived completely, however, 1 healed but partly necrosis. The color, character and thickness of this flap after transplantation were similar to the skin of the finger; and the appearance of the reconstructed finger by mini-medialis pedis flap and second toe composite flap was perfect. The transplanted skin of donated areas survived well, and the appearance and functions of donated feet were not affected significantly. Conclusion The free medialis pedis flap pedicled on medial branch of the deep branch of the medial plantar artery was one of the optimal flaps to repair soft tissue defect of the finger especially on the palmer side.