Discussion related to the vein of toe in toe free flap transplantation / 中华显微外科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To explore the clinical value of applying digital technology to make the course of toe vein clear before toe free flap transplantation for thumb reconstruction.Methods Before operation,scan the donor and recipient site by CT,and apply digital three-dimensional CT angiography reconstruction technology to got threedimensional images of the arteries and veins in the donor site for 22 various defected thumbs which were going to have toe free flap transplantation operation,thus indentifyed the types of FDMA and the distribution and course of the toe vein from June,2012 to March,2013.Used computer assisted anatomical modeling to analyze three-dimensional images of blood supply of the donor site and degree of defect of the recipient site and guide the operative design in the donor site according to the digital three-dimensional reconstruction technology.Conducted toe free flap transplantation for thumb reconstruction in accordance with the design.Results It shows that 64-slice dual-source spiral CT could well display the size,distribution and course of toe vein.The toe veins were clarified to two groups,deep one and superficial one whose diameter was larger and was the main reflux vein of the toe.Dorsal vein of the toe origind from venous plexus in the nail bed and it travels along the back of the toe to reach to the near side of metatarsophalangeal joint.And then it beeomes three to four dorsal metatarsal veins to infused dorsal venous arch of foot.The rule of its course wascentralize-decentralize-connect-decentralize again.The great saphenous vein origins from the inner side of dorsal venous arch of foot,rises along the crus before malleolus medialis and collect three larger tributariesmedial malleolar branches-anterior crural branch-outside crural branch.The small saphenous vein derives from the outside of dorsal venous arch of foot and winds behind lateral malleolus up to the back of the curs and infuses to the vein.Conclusion It is useful for venous return,reducing the incidence of vascular crisis by applying toe flap to reconstruct thumbs and clarifying the course and distribution of toe vein with the aid of digital three-dimensional technology to design operation,thus improving the survival rate of toe flap transplantation.