• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.784-788
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• 2006

Purpose: For the reconstruction of the ankle joint as well as the soft tissue defect in the distal lower leg, a free flap or a local flap has been used, and because of the condition of patients, if a complex microvascular surgery under general anesthesia could not be performed, it could be reconstructed by using the distally based lateral supramalleolar fascio-cutaneous island flap using the perforating branch of the peroneal artery in the ankle area. Methods: The study subjects were 4 male patients between 53 years and 73 years of age. 2 cases were tissue defect in the medial malleolus area due to systemic diseases such as gouty arthritis accompanied traffic accident, diabetes mellitus foot, atherosclerotic obliterans, etc., 1 case was the defect in the pretibia area, and 1 case was the defect underneath the lateral malleolus, which was reconstructed by the distally based lateral supramalleolar fascio-cutaneous island flap. The donor area was the skin harvested from the groin, and the full thickness skin graft was performed. The size of the flap varied from $4{\times}3cm$ to $9{\times}6cm$. As the flap border, the medial side was to the tibialis anterior tendon, the lateral side was to the fibula crest, and the proximal area was less than the fibula size. Results: The consequence is that, in total 4 cases, the congestion in the flap began from 12 hours after the surgery, and the progression of congestion was ceased on the 5th day after the surgery, and finally epidermal bulla and sloughing, partial necrosis was developed. After the end of necrosis, the defect area was reconstructed successfully by the second full thickness skin graft. Conclusions: Although the distally based lateral supramalleolar fascio-cutaneous island flap has the shortcoming of requiring the second skin graft, it has the advantages that it does not require a long complex microsurgery, the flap itself is thin, it is similar to the color of the skin in the recipient area, and it does not leave a big scar in the donor area. Therefore, it is thought that for the cases who could not undergo a long complex surgery due to systemic diseases or the cases of patients whose condition of the recipient area is not suitable for microsurgery, the lateral supramalleolar fascio-cutaneous island flap is very useful for the reconstruction of the distal lower leg and the ankle joint area.

• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.140-147
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• 2012

Microvascular reconstruction, in the oral and maxillofacial regions, is a widely accepted as the best way to overcome the complex oral cavity defects. Many patients requiring composite reconstructions have been treated previously with radiation therapy, chemotherapy, selective and/or functional neck dissection or any of these combinations. In many cases of these patients, inadequate neck vessels for the microanastomosis of free flap are available, due to a lack of recipient vessels in the neck, poor vessel quality or vessel caliber mismatch. To achieve a tension-free anastomosis, vein grafting must be considered to span the vessel gap between the free flap pedicle and the recipient neck vessels. Although most microsurgeons believed that interpositional grafts are to be avoided due to vessel thrombosis and increased number of necessary microanastomosis, we, authors have some confidence of equivalency between reconstruction with and without interpositional saphenous vein graft. The great saphenous vein, also known as the long saphenous vein, is the large subcutaneous superficial vein of the leg and thigh. It joins with the femoral vein in the region of femoral triangle at the saphenofemoral junction, and coursed medially to lie on the anterior surface of the thigh before entering an opening in the fascia lata, called the saphenous opening. For a better understanding of the great saphenous vein graft for the interpositional vessel graft in the oral cavity reconstructions, and an avoidance of any uneventful complications during these procedures, the related surgical anatomies with their harvesting tips are summarized in this review article in the Korean language.

• Archives of Reconstructive Microsurgery
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.146-156
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• 1998

Microvascular surgery has been widely used clinically for over 30 years. Although many types of free skin and myocutaneous flap are being used at present, surgeons are still looking for new flaps to suit the specific requirements of different recipient sites, to reduce the deformity at the donor site, to ease the management of the flap and to increase the success rate of those operations. The lateral thigh free flap was designed and reported simultaneously with the medial thigh free flap by Baek in 1983. The flap, based on the third perforator of the profunda femoris artery. is designed on the posterolateral aspect of the distal thigh. Clinically, the vascular variations and the locations of perforators of this system can be determined preoperatively with simple angiograms and Dopper audiometry. The lateral thigh free flap is suitable for reconstruction of defects in an oral floor with tongue and esophageal deficits, scalp defects with dural defects, and large full thickness defects of the lip. The advantages of this flap are safe elevation, a long vascular pedicles with a large lumen, skin that is generally thin, and good pliability. Furthermore, the skin territory is very wide and long. The donor site is hidden and therefore more acceptable to the patient. The disadvantage of this flap is that the anatomy of the pedicle vessels has irregular derivation from the main vessel. We had reconstructed lateral thigh free flap to the nine patients from January, 1997 to July, 1998 and got satisfactory results. In this paper we illustrate the arterial anatomy of the thigh and usefulness of this flap for the reconstruction of the head and neck.

• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.367-375
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• 2012

Midfacial reconstruction following resection of extensive malignant oral cavity tumors constitutes a challenging problems for reconstructive surgeons. Rectus abdominis muscle free flap (RAMFF) can be considered as the optimal reconstructive option in this case, because this flap has some advantages including consistent deep inferior epigastric artery anatomy, easy to dissect with well defined skin boundaries, acceptable donor site morbidity and the ability to perform simultaneous flap harvest with oral cancer ablation surgery. The rectus abdominis muscle forms an important part of the anterior abdominal wall and flexes the vertebral column, which is a long strap-like muscle divided transversely by three tendinous intersections, fibrous bands which are adherent to the anterior rectus sheath, which is thickly enclosed by the rectus sheath, except for the posterior part below the arcuate line that is usually located midway between the umbilicus and symphysis pubis. Below the arcuate line, this muscle lies in direct contact with the transversalis fascia and parietal peritoneum. For the better understanding of RAMFF as a routine reconstructive procedure in oral and maxillofacial surgery, the constant anatomical findings muse be learned and memorized by the young doctors in the course of the special curriculum periods for the Korean national board of oral and maxillofacial surgery. This review article will discuss the anatomical basis of RAMFF with Korean language.

• Archives of Reconstructive Microsurgery
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.68-74
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• 2008

Segmental defects of the tibia after open fractures, sepsis and a tumor surgery are among the most difficult and challenging clinical problems. Tibia defects in these situations are complicated with infection and are resistant to conventional bone grafting techniques. The aim of this study is to report the results and discuss the role of free flap followed by ipsilateral vascularized fibular transposition (IVFT) for reconstruction of tibia defects. Ten patients had free flap followed by IVFT in the period 1989~2007. Mean age was 25.3 years. The patients were followed for an average of 3.4 years. All flaps were survived including 1 case with venous thrombosis requiring additional surgery. The average time to union of proximal and distal end was 5.2 months, 8.2 months, each other. All transposed fibula were viable at last follow-up. IVFT offers the advantages of a vascularized graft. In patients with large bone and soft tissue defects combined with infection, free flap followed by IVFT is an useful and reliable method without microvascular anastomosis.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.315-324
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• 2023

Hemoglobinopathies such as sickle cell disease (SCD) are traditionally considered a relative contraindication to free tissue transfer, due to concerns that erythrocyte sickling will increase the risk of microvascular thrombosis and flap failure. This article describes a case report with the successful use of free tissue transfer in a patient with SCD and provides a systematic literature review on free tissue transfer in SCD. A retrospective chart review was performed of a patient with SCD who underwent free tissue transfer at the authors' institution. A systematic literature review using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines was performed using the keywords "free tissue transfer," "free flap," or "microsurgery" and "sickle cell" on PubMed, Ovid/Medline, and Scopus. A 29-year-old male with delayed presentation of an electrical burn to the face and scalp underwent wound closure with a free anterolateral thigh flap. Key management principles included red blood cell transfusion to keep hemoglobin S under 30% and hemoglobin greater than 10 g/dL, maintenance of hydration, normothermia, adequate analgesia, and postoperative anticoagulation. Systematic literature review identified 7 articles describing 13 cases of free tissue transfer in 10 patients with SCD, with combined complete free flap success in 10 of the 13 flaps. Free tissue transfer can be successfully performed in patients with SCD. However, evidence on the optimal management of this unique patient population in the perioperative period after free tissue transfer is limited to case reports in the literature.

• Archives of Reconstructive Microsurgery
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.97-105
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• 2012

Background: Increasing numbers of super-elderly patients (>80 years old) with cancer now require microvascular-free tissue transfer. The objectives of this study were to evaluate potential applications of microvascular tissue transfer in this patient population, and post-surgical changes in quality of life. Methods: The records of cancer patients 80 years or older who had undergone microsurgical tissue transfer were retrospectively reviewed. Structured interviews were conducted with patients and family caregivers after surgery, and the patients' quality of life was qualitatively assessed. Results: The study cohort consisted of seven patients with a mean age 87.6 years (range, 81 to 95). Wound and medically-related complications were minimal. During the patient interviews, eight of the nine respondents reported remarkable improvements in quality of life following surgery and expressed a high level of satisfaction with their surgical results. Conclusions: Our study showed that microsurgical reconstruction performed in super-elderly patient not only appropriately repairs post-oncologic defects but also significantly improves the patients' quality of life.

• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.265-275
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• 2013

The anterolateral thigh flap (ALTF) is a versatile fasciocutaneous or myocutaneous flap, which can be harvested incorporating several skin islands and muscle components. The perforator of the ALTF is usually derived from the descending or transverse branch of the lateral circumflex femoral artery, and these vessels are based mainly on musculocutaneous perforators traversing the vastus lateralis muscle, and also based on the septocutaneous vessels running in between the rectus femoris and vastus lateralis muscle. Despite its usefulness for the oral cavity reconstruction, anatomic variations of these nutrient vessels, such as three main branches of ALTF and its relations with sartorius, vastus lateralis, tensor fasciae latae and rectus femoris muscle, have been reconstructive surgeons to be hesitated for the selection of ALTF. For the better understanding of ALTF as a routine reconstructive procedure in oral and maxillofacial surgery, various anatomical findings must be learned and memorized by young doctors in the course of the special curriculum periods for the Korean national board of oral and maxillofacial surgery. This review article will discuss the vascular anatomy and relavant anatomical variations of ALTF with Korean language.

• Archives of Reconstructive Microsurgery
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.28-33
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• 2001

The numbers of breast cancer are increasing in Korea and the needs for breast reconstruction are also parallel with cancer frequency. The purpose of the study is to define the different state and condition between the delayed reconstruction and the immediate reconstruction of breasts and to suggest how to get more satisfactory outcome. The study included 22 patients who underwent delayed breast reconstruction using transverse rectus abdominis myocutaneous(TRAM) free flap from December, 1990 to January, 2001. Their ages ranged from 28 years to 58 years. We have used internal mammary artery and vein as a recipient vessel in 13 patients because of fibrosis and severe scarring in the axillary region and thoracodorsal artery and vein in 9 patients. When we used internal mammary artery with recipient vessel, we would use contralateral deep inferior epigastric artery with donor vessel. We obtained satisfactory result without any flap loss, and most patients satisfied with shape and volume of reconstructed breast. We found that delayed breast reconstruction have some differences compared with immediate breast reconstruction. First, we remove fibrotic and scar tissue as much as possible to achieve satisfactory shape of breast. Second, we plan preoperative design in standing position to obtain symmetrical recreation of inframammary fold. Third, we use internal mammary vessel in many cases with recipient vessel for microvascular anastomosis. Fourth, patients with delayed breast reconstruction feel more satisfaction than patients with immediate breast reconstruction do. Finally, economic burden is much higher in the delayed case than in the immediate case because of no coverage with insurance.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.167-174
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• 1992

Microvascular tissue transfers have facilitated primary closure of various complex defects after radical ablation of head and neck cancers. From Oct 1991 to Feb 1992, we used forearm free flap in two patients and delto-pectoral flap in one patient who had preoperative irradiation for pharyngoesophageal reconstruction. The stricture and fistular formation were most troublesome complication in forearm free flap, so we designed as lazy S shape in distal flap margin to prevent circular contraction and longitudinal margin was deepithelized(5mm) and sutured double layer to withstand fistular formation and this can be considered useful in place of a free jejunal transfer.