[Application of free peroneal artery chimeric perforator flap in repairing the defect after advanced local lesions resection in parotid gland carcinoma].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effectiveness of free peroneal artery chimeric perforator flap in repairing the defect after advanced local lesions resection in parotid gland carcinoma (PGC). METHODS: Between June 2010 and June 2020, 32 patients with advanced local lesions of PGC were treated with extended radical resection. After that, 17 patients were repaired with the free peroneal artery chimeric perforator flaps (trial group) and another 15 patients were repaired with the pedicled pectoralis major myocutaneous flaps (control group). There was no significant difference in gender, age, disease type, histopathological classification, clinical stage, and pathological stage between groups ( P>0.05). The size of skin flap in trial group ranged from 7 cm×6 cm to 12 cm×8 cm and the size of soleus muscle flap ranged from 5 cm×3 cm to 6 cm×4 cm. The donor sites were repaired with skin grafting. The size of the pedicled pectoralis major myocutaneous flaps in control group ranged from 9 cm×6 cm to 14 cm×7 cm. The donor sites were sutured directly. The operation time, survival rate of flap, and postoperative survival of patients were recorded and compared between groups. At 1 year after operation, the University of Washington quality of life (UW-QOL) questionnaire was used to evaluate the quality of life of patients in the two groups, including appearance, shoulder movement, sociability, masticatory function, speech function, and mood. RESULTS: The operations completed successfully. The operation time was (6.19±0.72) hours in trial group and (6.41±0.71) hours in control group, showing no significant difference between groups ( t=-0.863, P=0.395). The survival rate of flap in trial group was 94.1% (16/17); and 1 patient suffered from vascular crisis after operation and was replaced with the pedicled pectoralis major myocutaneous flap. The survival rate of flap in control group was 100%. All grafts survived and the incisions healed by first intention in the two groups. All patients were followed up. The follow-up time was 6-60 months (median, 60 months) in trial group and 7-60 months (median, 60 months) in control group. Cumulative survival rates of patients at 1, 3, and 5 years after operation were 94.1%, 64.7%, and 58.8% in trial group, respectively; 86.7%, 66.7%, and 53.3% in control group, respectively. There was no significant difference in the cumulative survival rate between groups ( χ 2=0.090, P=0.762). According to the UW-QOL questionnaire at 1 year after operation, the scores of appearance, shoulder movement, sociability, and mood in trial group were significantly higher than those in control group ( P<0.05); and there was no significant difference in masticatory function and speech function scores between groups ( P>0.05). CONCLUSION: The peroneal artery perforator has an invariable anatomical relationship. Each perforator emits the muscular branch that nourishes the soleus muscle. Therefore, personalized free peroneal artery chimeric perforator flap can be designed according to the tissue defect, and used to repair the defect after advanced local lesions resection in PGC.

Repair of multiple defects of foot and ankle with lobulated chimeric perforator flap pedicled with descending branch of lateral femoral circumflex artery: Report of 6 cases / 中华显微外科杂志

Objective:To investigate the clinical effect of lobulated chimeric perforator flap pedicled with descending branch of lateral circumflex femoral artery (d-LCFA) in repair of multiple composite tissue defects of the foot and ankle.Methods:From February 2017 to March 2021, a total of 6 patients with foot and ankle multiple site deficiency injuries were treated in the Department of Hand Surgery, Shenzhen Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine. The area of the soft tissue defect was 14.0 cm×9.0 cm~28.0 cm×9.0 cm. The size of the flap were 15.0 cm×10.0 cm-29.0 cm×10.0 cm. In all the cases, the wounds were complicated with bone defects and different degrees of infection. After primary debridement, VSD was used for continuous lavage and drainage. In the second stage, the defect was repaired with a lobulated chimeric perforator flap of d-LCFA. The colour, texture and sensory recovery of flap were observed in the scheduled postoperative follow-up.Results:All flaps survived smoothly without vascular crisis. After 10-12 months of follow-up, no recurrence of infection was found. The flaps had no pigmentation, soft in texture, with non-bloated appearance, good wear resistance, and recovered part of sensation. According to the British Medical Research Council (BMRC) hand sensory function evaluation standard, the sensation recovered to S 1-S 2. Conclusion:The lobulated chimeric perforator flap pedicled with d-LCFA only requires microanastomosis with 1 vascular pedicle. It simultaneously covers wounds in different depths at multiple sites and is also anti-infective. It is an ideal flap for repairing multi-site composite tissue defects of foot and ankle.

Application of lobed anterolateral thigh chimeric perforator flap in repairing the complex soft tissue defects of limbs / 中华显微外科杂志

Objective:To investigate the application and surgical effect of lobed anterolateral femoral chimeric perforator flap in repairing the complex soft tissue defects of limbs.Methods:Clinical materials of 52 cases with complex soft tissue defects of limbs were retrospectively reviewed from October 2013 to October 2020. Thirty-two males and 20 females were reviewed, and the age of them ranged from 6 to 65(mean 39) years old. The injuries include 17 cases of traffic accidents, 15 machine crush injuries, 12 engineering accidents, and 8 extensive resection of malignant tumors. The size of soft tissue defects ranged from 26.0 cm×10.0 cm to 35.0 cm×15.0 cm. Lobed anterolateral thigh chimeric perforator flaps or lobed Flow-through chimeric perforator flaps were designed according to the soft tissue defects and blood circulation of the distal extremities. Start from 8-month post-operation, upper limb function was assessed according to the Upper Limb Function Assessment Standard of Hand Surgery Branch of Chinese Medical Association and Disability of arm shoulder and hand(DASH) score scale, and Fugl-Meyer score system was used to evaluate the lower limb function. Long-term follow-up was conducted through WeChat video call and outpatient clinic evaluation.Results:All flaps survived. One patient with crush injury got delayed wound healing due to deep hemaetoma after surgery, and the rest were healed at the first stage. All the cases entered followed-up, ranged from 6 to 20(mean 8) months. The appearance of the flaps was satisfactory, and the color of the flaps has no significant difference compared with the recipient area. No recurrence of tumor was reported during the follow-up period. According to the Upper Limb Function Assessment Standard of Hand Surgery Branch of Chinese Medical Association, there were 21 excellent cases and 8 good cases, and the total excellent and good rate was 100%. The DASH score of upper limbs ranges from 11.5 to 45.1(mean 25.4±13.7), and the Fugl-Meyer score of lower limbs range from 18.6 to 31.8(mean 26.2±11.2) at the last follow-up.Conclusion:The complex soft tissue defect of limbs is a common complication caused by high-energy trauma, which is difficult to repair. The lobed anterolateral thigh chimeric perforator flap through a Decompose-Combine and arrange method for reconstruction, which is flexible in flap design. A variety of tissue flaps can be obtained by anastomosing only one group of blood vessels. It is an ideal choice for repairment of complex soft tissue defects of limbs.

[Anatomy of the deep circumflex iliac artery perforators and reconstruction of complex mandibular defects with chimeric deep circumflex iliac artery perforator flap].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the anatomy of the perforator vessels of the deep circumflex iliac artery (DCIA) and the techniques for repairing mandibular complex defect using chimeric deep circumflex iliac artery perforator flap (DCIAPF). OBJECTIVE: We analyzed the origin, distribution, number and courses of the perforator vessels of the DCIA, and measured the outside diameters of the vessels at the origin in 6 adult cadaveric specimens (12 sides) with latex perfusion. From July, 2018 to September, 2019, based on the results of anatomical study and imaging findings and using the digital surgical guide plate, we harvested DCIAPF from 4 patients for repairing mandibular body or angle defects and oral soft tissue defects. OBJECTIVE: The perforating vessels of the DCIA included abdominal muscular branches, osteomusculocutaneous branches and terminal musculocutaneous branches. The abdominal muscle branches originated from the DCIA inguinal segment in 4 and from both the inguinal and iliac segments in 2 of the specimens. The osteomusculocutaneous branches all originated from the internal iliac crest in 75% and from both the inguinal and internal iliac crest segments in 25% of cases; the inguinal segment gave rise to only one perforating branch. The number of the musculocutaneous perforating branches was 1 (58.3%) or 2 (41.7%). In the 4 patients undergoing mandibular reconstruction, the DCIAPF survived in all cases with good recovery of the donor site wound. Satisfactory facial appearance with good oral morphology and occlusal relationship was achieved at 1 month postoperatively in all the patients. None of the patients experienced obvious functional abnormalities at the donor site, and imaging examination confirmed successful reconstruction of the oromandibular defects in all the cases. OBJECTIVE: A good understanding of the anatomic characteristics of the perforator vessels of the DCIA combined with imaging examinations and digital surgery technology facilitates the harvest of DCIAPF for repairing mandibular body or angle defects complicated by oral soft tissue defects.

Specially formed radial collateral artery perforator flap in repair of complex defects of digits / 中华显微外科杂志

Objective:To explore the effects of specially formed radial collateral artery perforator flaps in reconstruction of the complex digit defects.Methods:From April, 2014 to March, 2020, 20 patients with multiple digit injuries combined with bone defects were treated by digit reconstruction with radial collateral artery chimeric and polyfoliate perforator flaps. Of the 20 patients, 7 patients were treated by chimeric perforator flaps, 12 by polyfoliate perforator flaps and 1 by chimeric polyfoliate perforator flap. Altogether 28 perforator flaps and 13 bone flaps were taken. The size of perforator flaps were 9.5 cm×4.0 cm to 4.0 cm×2.0 cm, and bone flap were 1.5 cm×0.6 cm×0.6 cm to 2.5 cm×1.0 cm×0.6 cm. All the donor sites were closed directly. Regular follow-up was performed. Function and clinical effect evaluation of repaired digits were made according to the Standard for Upper Limb Function Assessment of Hand Surgery Society of Chinese Medical Association and Sensory Function Assessment Criteria of British Medical Research Council (BMRC).Results:Twenty-seven flaps survived without any event. Venous congestion occurred in 1 flap with partial skin necrosis. Postoperative follow-up lasted from 3 months to 3.5 years (average 17.5 months). The appearance and texture of all flaps were good. All bone flaps properly healed. Sensory recovery achieved S 4 in 8 flaps, S 3 in 16 flaps and S 2 in 4 flaps. Hand function evaluation showed excellent in 12 patients and good in 8 patients. Conclusion:The specially formed radial collateral artery perforator flaps have the features of various designs with reliable blood supply, and are effective in repair of multiple digit injuries combined with soft tissue and bone defects.

Vascularized chimerical perforator flaps of deep circumflex iliac artery repairing bone and soft tissue defects of limbs / 中华显微外科杂志

Objective To explore the clinical effect and experience of separating deep circumflex iliac artery osteocutaneous perforator flap (DCIAP) from the bone flap.Methods According to local applied anatomy of groin,vascularized chimerical flaps of deep iliac circumflex artery was designed and applied.From May,2008 to June,2012,12 patients who combined bone and composite skin and soft-tissue defects were positioned by color dopplar ultrasound before operation and treated with vascularized chimerical flaps of deep iliac circumflex artery.The deep circumflex iliac perforator flaps was 8 to 19 cm in length and 2 to 6 cm in width,and the iliac bone grafts ranged from 5 to 8 cm in length.Results All flaps were fully survival.After 8-10 months postoperative followed-up,all the bone defect gained healing.The function and appearance of cutaneous flaps were satisfactory.There was no serious complication in donor sites of groin.The average time of healing was 9 (8-10) months.Conclusion Vascularized iliac bone graft and a perforator flap are nourished by the same deep circumflex iliac artery.There is more mobile scope and only 1 blood vessel between the bone graft and skin flap,which should be called chimeric perforator flap based on the deep iliac circumflex artery,and is a kind of good method to repair bone and soft-tissue defects of limbs.

Application of lateral femoral circumflex artery perforator flaps and fit together for limbs complex wound surface / 中华显微外科杂志

Objective To evaluate the feasibility and clinical efficacy of lateral femoral circumflex artery perforator flaps and fit together in the treatment of limbs complex wound surface.Methods From January 2010 to March 2012,use the characteristics that the descending branch of lateral femoral circumflex artery extend its branches over the flap,fascia and skin,to form lenticulostriate arteries,which contain 2 to 3 different species tissues fits together,flaps cover the important tissues such as vessel,nerves and bones.Fascia covers the tendinous tissues etc.Muscle can not only cover the tissues,but also fill in the space,and followed by skin grafting.This research was to perform the treatment for 4 cases of lacking limbs ring tissue,three cases of multiple wound surface,six cases of hand avulsion injury of skin and 9 cases of Gustilo grade-Ⅲ C.Results As for the 22 cases in the research,nineteen cases of flaps survived,the other 3 cases were necrosis with length of 1cm to 2 cm at distal and self-healed later.During 6 months to 2 years followed-up of 18 cases,external flaps were satisfactory,skin grafting over the fascia layers develops very well,smooth with great elasticity,no recoil,and no color change.Conclusion Lateral femoral circumflex artery is one of effective restoration methods for limbs with complex wound surface.