• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.775-778
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• 2010

Purpose: Reconstruction of soft tissue defects with osteomyelitis in the lower third of the leg represents a challenge to plastic surgeons. Moreover, it is more arduous in multimorbid patients. One excellent option for reconstruction of these defects is to use a delayed distally based sural flap. Methods: We successfully used delayed distally based sural flap with a two-step procedure. During the first operation, radical debridement and elevation of flap were performed. The raised flap was fixed again at the donor site. The delay period ranged from seven to ten days. Between August 2008 and July 2009, we underwent operations for five patients using this technique. The size of flap varied from $10{\times}6\;cm$ to $12{\times}14\;cm$. Results: All flaps successfully survived. Partial skin loss of the grafted site was seen in two patients but no further surgical procedure was required for wound healing. Complaints of hypoesthesia on the lateral part of the foot was observed. In a three month follow-up period, hypoesthesia was resolved spontaneously. Conclusion: Delayed procedure improves the viability of distally based sural flap in high risk, critically multimorbid patients. We recommend that, if a two-stage operative approach is required, the delayed procedure should be considered.

• Archives of Reconstructive Microsurgery
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.56-62
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• 1997

Latissimus dorsi(LD) muscle is the largest transplantable block of vascularized tissue. Since LD free flap was introduced in 1970's, this flap has been widely used for the reconstruction of large soft tissue defect of the limb. From 1981 to 1996, we had experienced 37 cases of LD free flap. Serratus anterior muscle was combined with LD in three of them whose defects were very large. The average age of the patients was 31 years(range : 4-74 years), and thirty one patients were male. Trauma was cause of the defect in every case. For the recipient sites, the foot and ankle was the most common(22 cases); and the knee and lower leg(11 cases), the elbow and forearm(2 cases), the hand(2 cases) were the next. The duration of follow-up was averaged as 16 months(range: 6 months-12 years). Thirty one cases(84%) out of 37 were successful transplantations. In one case the failure of the flap was due to heart attack and subsequent death of the patient. One failure was caused by sudden violent seizure of the patient who had organic brain damage. Immediate reexploration of the flap was performed in 4 patients, and the flap survived in three of them. There was one necrosis of the grafted split-thickness skin on the survived LD flap. LD free flap was considered as one of the good methods, for the reconstruction of the large soft tissue defect of the limb.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.140-143
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• 2008

Degloving injuries result from the tangential force against the skin surface, with resultant separation of the skin and the subcutaneous tissue from the rigid underlying muscle and fascia. These injuries are associated with extensive soft tissue loss and occasionally with exposure of bone, and they require reconstructive modality for resurfacing and successful rehabilitation that considers the vascular anatomy and the timing of the operation. A 19-year-old male patient was transferred to our facility with degloving injury extending from the lower third of the right thigh to the malleolar area. The tibial bone was exposed to a size of $2{\times}3.5cm^2$ on the upper third of the lower leg at the posttraumatic third day. The exposed soft tissue was healthy, and the patient did not have any other associated disease. At the posttraumatic sixth day, one-stage resurfacing was performed with a medial gastrocnemius muscle flap transposition for the denuded bone and a split-thickness skin graft for the entire raw surface. The transposed gastrocnemius muscle attained its anatomical shape quickly, and the operating time was relatively short. No transfusion was needed. This early reconstruction prevented the accumulation of chronic granulation tissue, which leads to contracture of the wound and joint. The early correction of the gastrocnemius muscle flap transposition made early rehabilitation possible, and the patient recovered a nearly full range of motion at the injured knee joint. The leg contour was almost symmetric at one month postoperatively.

• The Journal of Korean Society for School & Community Health Education
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• v.4
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• pp.79-95
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• 2003

This dissertation aims to analyze various safety accidents taking place during physical education class according to physical education teacher's value orientation, to identify teacher's value orientation that can minimize safety accidents, and to provide basic materials for safe and smooth class management. For this purpose, data have been collected from 261 physical education teachers at some middle and high schools in G City in Kyung-Ki Province and Busan Metropolitan City. The materials were treated as follows: The variables on demographic characteristics of physical education teachers are determined by t-test ; The analysis of one-way ANOVA and relationship between value orientation and safety accident prevention activities was conducted through Pearson's linear correlation analysis and multiple regression; The analysis of the relationship between value orientation and actual conditions of safety accidents was conducted through logistic regression. First, there is almost no awareness difference of physical education teachers' value orientation according to demographical variables. The value orientation physical education teachers consider to be the most important is, however, mainly 'mastery of disciplinary lesson.' There is a statistically significant difference in safety accident prevention activities according to demographical variables. Teachers' focuses in class contents showed a significant difference according to teaching experience and working area, while the dependency on facility has a significant difference according to teaching experience and school type. Second, there is no correlation between physical education teacher's value orientation and safety accident prevention activities because there is virtually no statistically significant difference between them. It means that safety accident prevention activities are not related with on which teachers place emphasis among mastery of disciplinary lesson, social reconstruction, self-realization, ecological integration and value orientation on learning process. Third, the analysis of safety accident prevention activities according to physical education teachers' value orientation revealed that the lower value orientation in social reconstruction is, the more safety accidents teachers experience. It is also found that crashes among students, ball games and leg injuries are inter-related with social reconstruction in value orientation, over-motivation and unskilled motor function ; athletic sports with value orientation on learning process and safety prevention training ; unskilled motor functions with value orientation in ecological integration and disobedience to teacher's directions ; winter accidents with mastery of disciplinary lesson in value orientation. In conclusion, the research indicates that physical education teacher's value orientation according to demographical variables didn't show any significant difference, while one according to safety accident prevention activities showed significant difference. Besides, physical education teachers' value orientation is not related to safety accident prevention activities, but the relationship between value orientation and actual conditions of safety accidents showed correlations according to each variable. Especially, teachers with lower value orientation in social reconstruction experienced more safety accidents. Therefore, physical education teachers can manage physical education class more safely with more emphasis on value orientation in social reconstruction.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.67-72
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• 2008

Purpose: The hand is frequently affected area in high voltage electrical burn injury as an input or output sites. Electrical burn affecting the hand may produce full thickness necrosis of the skin and damage deep structures beneath the eschar, affecting the tendon, nerve, vessel, even bone which result in serious dysfunction of the hand. As promising methods for the reconstruction of the hand defects in electrical burn patients, we have used the peroneal perforator free flaps. Methods: From March 2005 to June 2006, we applied peroneal perforator free flap to five patients with high tension electrical burn in the hand. Vascular pedicle ranged from 4cm to 5cm and flap size was from $4{\times}2.5cm$ to $7{\times}4cm$. Donor site was closed primarily.Results: All flaps survived completely. There was no need to sacrifice any main artery in the lower leg, and there was minimal morbidity at donor site. During the follow-ups, we got satisfactory results both in hand function and in aesthetic aspects.Conclusion: The peroneal perforator flap is a very thin, pliable flap with minimal donor site morbidity and is suitable for the reconstruction of small and medium sized wound defect, especially hand with electrical burn injury.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.589-593
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• 2019

Post-traumatic defects of the distal third of the leg often require skipping a few steps of the well-established reconstructive ladder, due to the limited local reliable reconstructive options. In rare cases, the reconstructive plan and flap choice may encounter challenges when the patient has psychiatric illness affecting compliance with postoperative care. We describe a case of a patient with severe intellectual disability and an open fracture of the distal lower limb. After fracture management and debridement of devitalized tissues, the resultant soft tissue defect was covered with a free gracilis flap. On postoperative day 7, the patient ripped out the newly transplanted flap. The flap was too traumatized for salvage, so a contralateral free gracilis muscle flap was used. The patient showed good aesthetic and functional outcomes at a 1-year follow-up. When planning the postoperative management of patients with psychiatric illness, less complex and more robust procedures may be preferred over a long and complex surgical reconstruction requiring good compliance with postoperative care. The medical team should be aware of the risk of postoperative collapse, focus on the prevention of pain, and be wary of drug interactions. Whenever necessary, free tissue transfer should be performed despite potential compliance issues.

• Archives of Reconstructive Microsurgery
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.80-87
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• 2000

Acute high speed accidents that results in full thickness skin defect and exposure of tendon, nerve, vessel and periosteum over denuded bone demands soft tissue coverage. Exposed bone often ensues chronic infection and requires free flap transplantation which surely covers defects in one stage operation and enhances transport of oxygen-rich blood and converts a non-osteogenic or partially osteogenic site into a highly osteogenic site, but exposed bone which had performed free flap transplantation sometimes necroses and needs secondary bone procedure. Scar contracture limits joint motion should be excised and covered with normal soft tissue to restore normal range of motion. Authors have performed the large latissimus dorsi myocutaneous free flap in 8 cases of extensive soft tissue defect and exposed bone lesion in the leg and 1 case of the flap was failed. The secondary ilizarov bone procedure was performed in 3 of 8 cases. 2 cases of large burn scar contracture and 1 case of posttraumatic scar contracture in lower extremity were restored with the large latissimus dorsi myocutaneous free flap. Authors concluded that large latissimus dorsi myocutaneous free flap is the most acceptable microvascular procedure in large soft tissue defect combined with exposed periosteum and bone requiring secondary bone procedure and in large burn scar contracture limiting knee joint motion.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.240-252
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• 2022

Rather than just another "review," this is intended to be an "overview" of the entire subject of the medial sural artery perforator (MSAP) flap as has been presented in the reconstructive literature from its inception in 2001 until the present, with any exceptions not purposefully overlooked. Unfortunately, the pertinent anatomy of the MSAP flap is always anomalous like most other perforator flaps, and perhaps even more variable. No schematic exists to facilitate the identification of a dominant musculocutaneous perforator about which to design the flap, so some adjunctive technology may be highly valuable for this task. However, if a relatively thin free flap is desirable for a small or moderate sized defect that requires a long pedicle with larger caliber vessels, the MSAP flap deserves consideration. Indeed, for many, this has replaced the radial forearm flap such as for partial tongue reconstruction. Most consider the donor site deformity, even if only a conspicuous scar on the calf, to be a contraindication. Yet certainly if used as a local flap for the knee, popliteal fossa, or proximal leg, or as a free flap for the ipsilateral lower extremity where a significant recipient site deformity already exists, can anyone really object that this is not a legitimate indication? As with any perforator flap, advantages and disadvantages exist, which must be carefully perused before a decision to use the MSAP flap is made. Perhaps not a "workhorse" flap for general use throughout the body, the MSAP flap in general may often be a valuable alternative.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.194-199
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• 2023

Moderate soft-tissue defects need stable coverage, ideally with tissue of similar characteristics and low donor site morbidity. We propose a simple technique for the coverage of moderate skin defects in the limbs. It allows intraoperative transformation of a propeller perforator flap (PPF) into a keystone design perforator flap (KDPF) in cases of unsatisfying perforator vessel or in cases of unpredictable intraoperative events. Between March 2013 and July 2019, nine patients with moderate soft-tissue defects (mean defect size 4.5 × 7.6 cm) in the limbs (two on the upper limbs and seven on the lower limbs) were covered using this technique. We performed four PPFs and five KDPFs. The mean follow-up was 5 months. There was one complication, partial distal tip necrosis in a PPF located in the leg, which healed by secondary intention within 3 weeks. The donor site was closed directly in all cases. No functional impairments were noted regardless of the perforator flap utilized. This technique enables us to employ flexible surgical strategies and allows us to make adjustments based on the patient's vascular anatomy.

• Archives of Reconstructive Microsurgery
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.62-67
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• 1998

The gracilis muscle is well suited to small and medium-sized soft tissue defects that cannot be adequately handled by simple rotational flaps and it will conform well to irregular contours, can be split longitudinally at both ends to allow cavities and awkwardly shaped spaces and can be transferred in part or in whole. The gracilis muscle used as a free muscle or musculocutaneous flap is small with a long, narrow contour and its vascular pedicle is a terminal branch of the medial femoral circumflex artery and vein. The aims of soft tissue reconstruction are to cover soft tissue defects, to clear up infection and to prepare for further surgical procedures. Authors have performed 12 gracilis muscle flaps in the lower extremities at Chonbuk National University Hospital from June 1994 through March 1998. The results were as follows. 1. 11 cases of 12(91.7%) were sustained from the crushing injury and secondary complications from the traffic accident. 2. The microsurgical anastomosis of one artery and two veins have performed in 6 cases(50%) of 12 and 11(91.7%) cases of 12 were successful at the third postoperative week and in the final result. 3. Gracilis muscle flap is the infetion-resistant and aesthetically acceptable performed in the lower leg 1/3 and the foot.