Combined tiled flaps from foot with bone graft for reconstruction of thumb defects / 中华显微外科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To explore the operative technique and clinical outcomes of tiled flaps from foot with bone graft for reconstruction of thumb defects.Methods From January, 2008 to December, 2013, 8 cases of thumb defects with varying degrees were treated with tiled flaps from foot and iliac bone graft.Among them, 4 cases caused by emergency trauma, the other 4 cases was old defect after trauma, including 1 case of double thumb defect that caused by electrical burn.The thumb defects was caterorized as type Ⅰ A in 1 case, type Ⅰ B in 2 cases, type Ⅱ A in 1 case, type ⅡB in 2 cases and type ⅢA in 2 cases.Five cases in which were treated with free wrap-around flap from the ipsilateral big toe and tibial lateral-flap from the opposite second toe, 3 cases using free wrap-around flap with series connection of dorsal artery.Results All 8 reconstructed thumbs were survived.The wound healed primarily.In 1 case, the unhealed wound was healing after dressing where skin grafts in the donor sites of the foot were partial necrosis.Postoperative follow-up ranged from 6 to 72 months, the appearance of the thumb was satisfying when was compared with normal thumb.Thumb nail grew well, the blood supply was good, and sensory recovery from S2 to S4.According to the criteria issued by the Hand Surgery Society of Chinese Medical Association for functional assessment of reconstucted thumb and fingers, 5 were excellent and 3 were good.The donor site skin graft had no scar contracture and no ulceration.There was no apparent impairment on the foot function.Conclusion Combined tiled flaps from foot and iliac bone graft for reconstruction of thumb is a good method, which can recover the appearance of thumb without sacrificing toes of the donor foot.