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The anterolateral thigh flap has been used for coverage of defects in the foot and ankle for years. Conventional extended anterolateral thigh flaps do not undergo thinning procedures, which limit their application. Here, a clinical series of 24 patients is reported in which extended anterolateral thigh flaps were used for posttraumatic foot and ankle reconstruction. Of the 24 flaps, 14 were simple extended anterolateral thigh fasciocutaneous flaps and 10 were thinned extended anterolateral thigh flaps. One artery and two veins, including a superficial vein and an accompanying vein, were anastomosed to vascularize each flap. Follow-up of the 24 patients ranged from 10 months to 4 years postoperatively. All 24 flaps survived successfully, except one case that had partial flap necrosis distally due to excessive thinning. The cutaneous flap territory ranged from 250 cm2 to 400 cm2 (mean, 297 cm2). Only one patient received a debulking procedure. No ulceration occurred in any of the flaps due to contact with the shoe. The extended anterolateral thigh flap is a good alternative for extensive soft tissue defects of the foot and ankle. This study also supports the high reliability and excellent vascular supply of moderate thinned extended ALT flaps.

IntroductionReconstruction of weight-bearing heel defects remains a challenge because of the unique characteristics of the plantar skin. Though numerous surgical reconstructive options have been reported, the instep flap represents an ideal option and seems to be more acceptable to patients than others. However, when the heel defect expands to the instep area, the ipsilateral instep is not available for flap elevation. A free instep flap harvested from the contralateral foot can be a good solution, but this method has been scarcely reported.Case presentationA 41-year-old Asian man presented to our institution with a soft-tissue lesion in the weight-bearing heel and instep area. His heel was reconstructed with a free instep flap from the other foot, end-to-side anastomosis of its medial plantar artery to the recipient posterior tibial artery and end-to-side coaptation of the cutaneous sensory fascicles of the flap to the medial plantar nerve.ConclusionThe flap survived successfully, and no ulceration occurred in the flap. At the last follow-up appointment at 30 months post-surgery, a very good functional and aesthetic outcome was verified, indicating that the suggested approach may prove to be the treatment of choice in selected cases of weight-bearing heel reconstruction.

Background The distally based sural flap (DBSF) is one of the armamentarium in the lower limb reconstruction. However, the flap has not gained popularity due to concerns about its reliability and donor site morbidity. Based on the anatomy characterization, we combined and developed five modifications to improve the vascular supply and reduce donor site morbidity. Patients and Methods The authors performed a comparison of retrospective study that included patients who underwent either traditional distally based sural flap (tDBSF) or modified distally based sural flap (mDBSF) surgery approach for ankle, heel, and dorsal foot coverage between January 2007 and May, 2019. The five modifications developed to improve the reliability of the flap include: 1. shift the pivot point more proximally 7.0 cm above the lateral malleolus, 2. preserve the lesser saphenous vein and include branches that communicates with the flap, 3. harvest thinner fascial pedicle, 4. change the skin incision to “S” shape, 5. closure of the donor site with a propeller flap. Results Thirty-one patients underwent mDBSF, and 23 received tDBSF. There were no significant differences in the size of the DBSF. Mean pedicle width was significantly narrower in mDBSF (1.63 ± 0.52 cm vs. 3.81 ± 0.70 in tDBSF). The pivot point was also found to be higher in mDBSF (8.01 ± 0.63 cm vs. 5.46 ± 0.56 cm) above the lateral malleolus. In mDBSF, the size of the propeller flap required for donor site closure was 53.45 ± 19.06 cm2 (range 33–80 cm2). The rate of partial necrosis between mDBSF and tDBSF was significantly different (9.68 vs. 34.78%). While the other complications had no difference. Conclusion The modifications applied to the harvesting of the DBSF have achieved higher survival rate, lower dehiscence rate, and shorter hospital stay time in comparison with traditional approach in our retrospective study.

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