The free serratus anterior flap and its cutaneous component for face reconstruction: a series of 27 cases

Intrathoracic transposition of the serratus anterior muscle flap — personal experience with 65 consecutive patients☆

“…In some cases, we used fixation of the tip of the scapula to the chest wall; this was always done using resorbable stitches, so that the scapula may regain an almost-normal mobility after the resorbtion of the suture material, remaining attached to the chest wall through the adhesions; we feel that fixation inside the thorax or resection of the scapula as performed by some old surgeons in the 1950s during classic thoracoplasty is too aggressive and mutilant. This idea is supported by the results reported by other teams [3,5], including a series published by plastic surgeons with SAfree-flaps for repairing distant defects using microsurgical transfers [8,9].…”

Surgical Techniques and Results of Lateral Thoracic Cutaneous, Myocutaneous, and Conjoint Flaps for Head and Neck Reconstruction

“…It has been reported in early studies that the two supplying vessels have variable positions in the lateral thorax and that there is possible inconsistency of blood supply to the overlying skin. The cadaver studies in recent years by Erdogmus et al, 3 Lifchez et al, 2 and Petit et al 8 have demonstrated that there is extensive vascular anastomosis of the vascular networks between the thoracodorsal and LT vessels to supply the muscle and skin island. The variable courses of the vessels make it difficult to design the correct flap location before the dissection, and therefore, there may be a need to readjust the flap location after identification of the supplying vessels.…”

“…The applications of free LT flap for head and neck reconstruction have never gained popularity compared with the other free flaps, including for the anterolateral thigh, forearm, and rectus 1,5,6 . Godat et al 7 and Pittet et al, 8 however, have shown recently that the LT flap is in fact a reliable free flap for facial construction. The pedicle LT flap is used mainly for reconstruction of defects in the axilla and chest wall 9–11 .…”

The Pedicled Serratus Anterior Muscle Wrap-around Flap

“…8 A series of 27 free transfers of the musculocutaneous flap to the face has demonstrated the flap to be reliable and well suited for thin tissue coverage. 9 Recently, the free serratus anterior fascia flap has gained more and more importance in the management of soft tissue defects at the Serratus Anterior Flap and Neuropathic Pain hand or foot with exposed functional structures such as tendons, bones, vessels, or nerves. The main advantage of this fascial flap consists of its thin and well-vascularized pliable tissue with excellent gliding properties.…”