The anatomic basis of fasciocutaneous flap based on the posterior tibial vessels.

ABSTRACT

The skin of the medial aspect of the leg is supplied by the cutaneous perforating branches of the posterior tibial artery and can be raised as a flap based on the main artery or perforating branches. There are several studies regarding this vascular system but nothing about the true length of the perforating vessel has been mentioned. The present study was conducted in 20 cadaveric legs and the results showed that 1) The average diameters of perforators in the proximal, middle and distal thirds were 1.43, 1.20 and 1.12 mm respectively; 2) the average lengths were 35.11, 20.94 and 12.71 mm respectively; 3) the average location of the first branch was 7.35 cm from the tibial tubercle while the last branch resided 2.31 cm from the medial malleolus. This study provides some anatomical information, involving the vascular pedicle of the flap based on posterior tibial perforators, which could be beneficial in clinical practice.