Over the last eight years, the authors analyzed obstructive lymphedema of a unilateral upper extremity in a total of 27 females, comparing the use of supramicrosurgical lymphaticovenule anastomoses and/or conservative treatment. The most common cause of edema was mastectomy, with or without subsequent radiation therapy for breast cancer. As an objective assessment of the extent of edema, the circumferences of the affected and opposite normal forearms were measured at 10 cm below the olecranon of the arm. Twelve of these patients received continual bandaging. In these patients, the average excess circumference of the affected arm was 6.4 cm over that of the normal forearm; the average duration of edema before treatment was 3.5 years; the average period for conservative treatment was 10.6 months; and the average decrease in circumference was 0.8 cm (11.7 percent of the preoperative excess). Twelve patients underwent surgery and postoperative continual bandaging. In these patients, the average excess circumference was 8.9 cm; the average duration of edema before surgery was 8.2 years; the average follow-up after surgery was 2.2 years; and the average decrease in circumference was 4.1 cm (47.3 percent of the preoperative excess). These results indicated that supermicrolymphaticovenular anastomoses with postoperative bandaging have a valuable place in the treatment of obstructive lymphedema.

The superficial circumflex iliac artery perforator (SCIP) flap differs from the established groin flap in that it is nourished by only a perforator of the superficial circumflex iliac system and has a short segment (3 to 4 cm in length) of this vascular system. Three cases in which free superficial circumflex iliac artery perforator flaps were successfully transferred for coverage of soft-tissue defects in the limb are described in this article. The advantages of this flap are as follows: no need for deeper and longer dissection for the pedicle vessel, a shorter flap elevation time, possible thinning of the flap with primary defatting, the possibility of an adiposal flap with customized thickness for tissue augmentation, a concealed donor site, minimal donor-site morbidity, and the availability of a large cutaneous vein as a venous drainage system. The disadvantages are the need for dissection for a smaller perforator and an anastomosing technique for small-caliber vessels of less than 1.0 mm.

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In this article, three cases in which free medial plantar perforator flaps were successfully transferred for coverage of soft-tissue defects in the fingers and foot are described. This perforator flap has no fascial component and is nourished only by perforators of the medial plantar vessel and a cutaneous vein or with a small segment of the medial plantar vessel. The advantages of this flap are minimal donor-site morbidity, minimal damage to both the posterior tibial and medial plantar systems, no need for deep dissection, the ability to thin the flap by primary removal of excess fatty tissue, the use of a large cutaneous vein as a venous drainage system, a good color and texture match for finger pulp repair, short time for flap elevation, possible application as a flow-through flap, and a concealed donor scar.

Through-and-through oromandibular defects require the greatest amount of soft-tissue volume among the transfers for head and neck defects. A new method, a large anterolateral thigh flap combined with a vascularized fibula graft in a chimera fashion, has been used for two patients with wide through-and-through oromandibular defects. Among the candidates for such a large skin flap, the anterolateral thigh flap seems to be the best, for the following reasons. (1) Its pedicle, the lateral circumflex femoral system, has several major branches of equal size of anastomosis of the peroneal vessels. (2) As the majority of such patients with multiple previous surgery have lost recipient vessels near the mandible, the longest vascular pedicle is required. (3) There is no need for positional changes, and simultaneous flap elevation with the tumor resectioning is possible. (4) Use of the fibula allows for reconstruction of the entire mandible, if necessary. (5) Some of the shortcomings of individual donor sites for massive composite osteocutaneous flaps are minimized, because each component consists of two donor sites. (6) Operating time for this flap elevation is minimized, compared to that for massive composite osteocutaneous flaps, because the individual components can be obtained simultaneously by two teams.

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Fifty-six partial toes were transferred to reconstruct fingertip deficits. The transfers from the big toe mainly consisted of 3 trimmed big toetips, 3 vascularized nail grafts, 3 onychocutaneous flaps, 19 thin osteo-onychocutaneous flaps, and 2 hemipulp flaps. The transfers from the second toe mainly consisted of 8 trimmed second toetips, 5 reduced second toes, and 9 whole distal phalanges. The average values of postoperative sensory recovery of the osteo-onychocutaneous flaps including the vascularized nail grafts were 3.1 (Semmes-Weinstein test) and 6.3 mm (moving two-point discrimination) at 2.6 years after the transfer; those of the thin osteo-onychocutaneous flaps were 3.1 and 7.2 mm at 2.0 years after surgery; those of the trimmed big toe tip transfers were 3.61 and 6.5 mm at 1.8 years after surgery; and those of the trimmed second toetip transfers were 3.37 and 6.3 mm at 2.6 years after transfer. Those of the distal phalanx of the second toe were 3.41 and 7.9 mm at 1.2 years after surgery, and those of the reduced second toe were 3.2 and 6.7 mm at 10.6 months after surgery.

In the three cases presented in this study, free tensor fasciae latae perforator flaps were used successfully for the coverage of defects in the extremities. This flap has no muscle component and is nourished by muscle perforators of the transverse branch of the lateral circumflex femoral system. The area of skin that can by nourished by these perforators is larger than 15 x 12 cm. The advantages of this flap include minimal donor-site morbidity, the preservation of motor function of the tensor fasciae latae muscle and fascia lata, the ability to thin the flap by removing excess fatty tissue, and a donor scar that can be concealed. In cases that involve transection of the perforator above the deep fascia, the operation can be completed in a very short period of time. This flap is especially suitable as a free flap for young women and children who have scars in the proximal region of the lateral thigh or groin region that were caused by split-thickness skin grafting or full-thickness skin grafting during previous operations.