66 Local Perforator Flap Reconstruction in the Surgical Mission Setting
677
aps were used follow ing contracture release for technically
graftable beds.
The majority of patients had a single ap perform ed at one
procedure. Multiple aps were performed at one operation in
two cases: one child had three aps and an adult two aps. One
adult patient required a second ap after partial ap loss follow-
ing the rst intervention.
The perforators were fully skeletonized in six aps and left
with a very minimal adipofascial cu in 11 aps. For one re-
verse sural artery perforator ap, the standard 3-cm adipofascial
bridge was preserved without individual perforator dissection.
The majority of aps were based on a single perforator and trans-
posed as propeller aps (mean angle of rotation for the aps was
118 degrees, range 40 to 180 degrees). The majority of donor
sites closed directly for over 80% of their length requiring only
small areas of grafting.
Harvesting scar tissue within the ap did not increase our
revision rate (Table 66.4). Epiderm olysis occurred within two
dorsal metacarpal perforator aps but only within the ap com -
ponent that carried mature skin graft as part of the ap com -
position (Fig. 66.5). These healed without surgical management
or long-term sequelae. There were no cases of full-thickness ap
loss or total ap necrosis.
When raising either a ap within the zone of trauma or a
ap that contains scar tissue, a careful stepwise m obilization is
undertaken to leave as many perforators as possible, dissecting
vessels only as much as necessary to prevent torque or tension on
ap transposition. A skin bridge (Fig. 66.4) or adipofascial bridge
was incorporated according to the perforator plus ap design
where appropriate.
Workhorse Flaps
A brief audit was undertaken over four m issions to de ne
com m on perforator aps used and their outcom e. This is sum -
m arized in Table 66.3 and outlines 18 of the aps com m only
applied. All wounds were chronic, presenting on average 26
m onths after injury (range 6 to 60 m onths). We docum ent the
parent artery the perforator originates from , the degree of scar
tissue w ithin the ap composition, the degree of vessel skele-
tonization, ap islanding, and transposition. Out of the 18 aps,
11 were used to reconstruct ungraftable beds including: (1) ex-
posed bone (four aps: two cases associated w ith osteomyeli-
tis); (2) exposed tendons and open joints ( ve aps); and (3)
exposed tendons (two aps). Seven interpositional perforator
Fig. 66.4 Illustrates a perforator plus ap raised in the zone of trauma of a
lower limb. (a) Seven-month-old compound tibial fracture from a missile
injury. All local tissues are in the zone of trauma. The lateral aspect of the
leg has scarring from an axial laceration. The blue marks indicate two Dop-
pler signals from proximal anterior tibial perforators. (b) Shows the per-
forator dissection. (c) Shows that the skin bridge of a perforator plus ap
has been retained and at day 4, the ap shows no congestion or necrosis.
b
a
c
678
III Masterclasses in Reconstructive Flaps
(continued)
Table 66.3 Summary of source of perforator artery, ap composition, movement, and outcome for 18 perforator aps
undertaken during missions
Patient
Perforator
Flap
composition
Flap movement
Degree
rotation
Closure donor
site
Complication and outcome
Flap
Skeletonized (S)
1: Normal tissue
Direct closure
(DC)
Parent vessel
Adipofascial cu
(AFC)
2: Zone trauma
scar tissue (ST)
Direct closure
and graft
Perforator plus
ap
Grafted tissue
(GT)
100% split skin
graft (SSG)
Skin bridge (SB)
Adipofascial
bridge (AFB)
Patient 1 (2 aps)
Posterior tibial artery
1 perforator: AFC
1 1 2 (ST)
Propeller
transposition
180
SSG
Partial patchy necrosis within
scarred area ap: ap debrided
and replaced before mission
ended to endure fracture cover
before mission exit
Anterior tibial artery
2 perforators: S
1 1 2 (ST)
Propeller
transposition
90
SSG
Nil
Patient 2
Anterior tibial artery
1 perforator: AF
1 1 2 (ST)
Perforator plus
transposition ap
40
SSG
Nil
SB: perforator plus
Patient 3
Sural artery and peroneal
perforators
1 perforator: S
1
Propeller
transposition
180
DC
Partial skin loss after discharge
(compliance issues with weight
bearing)
Secondary SSG; no further
problems
Patient 4
Sural artery and peroneal
perforators
3 peroneal
perforators: AFB
1
Propeller
transposition
180
Direct close
50% defect
Nil
SSG 50% defect
Patient 5 (2 aps)
Left angular artery
1 perforator: S
1 1 2 (ST)
Propeller
transposition
90
Direct closure
Nil
Right angular artery
1 perforator: AFC
1 1 2 (ST)
Propeller
transposition
90
Direct closure
Nil
Patient 6
Lateral intercostal artery
1 perforator: AFC 2 (ST)
Perforator plus
80
Direct closure
Nil
SB: perforator plus
Intact skin bridge
Patient 7
First dorsal metatarsal
artery
1 perforator: AFC
1
Propeller
transposition
90
Direct closure
80%
Nil
Full-thickness
skin graft
(FTSG) 20%
Patient 8
First dorsal metatarsal
artery
1 Perforator: AFC
1
Propeller
Transposition
90
Direct closure
Minor epidermolysis in donor site
Z-plasty raised in formally grafted
tissue; no long-term sequelae
66 Local Perforator Flap Reconstruction in the Surgical Mission Setting
679