The groin flap in severe hand injuries.
We reviewed 27 patients who required 28 groin flaps for repair of hand injuries. Flap necrosis due to ischemia developed in 18% of the patients. Flap ischemia did not develop after elevation of the flap or partial division of the pedicle. All flap necroses occurred after final (total) division of the pedicle (p less than 0.05). Flap necrosis was more common following immediate insetting of the flap than after delaying the inset, but this difference was not statistically significant. Flap necrosis did not develop if the pedicle was divided in two stages, with the first stage consisting of either preliminary ligation of the superficial circumflex iliac vessels or full-thickness division of a portion of the width of the flap. Our complication rate was much lower than that previously reported for groin flaps.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006119:Groin / Q000601:surgery*; D006230:Hand Injuries / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008722:Methods; D008875:Middle Aged; D009336:Necrosis / Q000209:etiology; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D016038:Skin Transplantation; D013524:Surgical Flaps