Reconstruction of a Soft Tissue Defect of the Lateral Ankle with the Abductor Digiti Minimi Muscle Flap: A Case Report

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: There are several methods to reconstruct the soft tissue defect of ankle area, including skin graft, local flaps, distant flaps and free flaps. Among them, the abductor digiti minimi (ADM) muscle flap is very useful for local flap coverage and we report a case using this unique and available technique. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A 31-year-old man with lateral malleolar soft tissue defect was referred from orthopedic surgery department. On physical examination, the wound has chronic osteomyelitis with bony destruction and discharge. After wound debridement, we detached the ADM from the head of the 5th metatarsal bone and transposed to the defected area. We placed the meshed split-thickness skin graft over the muscle flap and immobilized it using a tie-over dressing. RESULTS: He had an uneventful postoperative course without infection, dehiscence and flap necrosis. He has remained asymptomatic for 8 months without any recurrence such as osteomyelitis. In addition, he kept a normal gait and posture with weight bearing on the lateral border of the foot. CONCLUSIONS: We introduce very easy and useful ADM local transfer method and it is definitely indicative in the case of small, linear soft tissue defect.