title: Free fasciocutaneous flaps in the treatment of chronic osteomyelitis of the tibia: a retrospective study.
abstract: The efficacy of free fasciocutaneous flaps for the treatment of chronic osteomyelitis of the tibia was evaluated in a retrospective study. A series of 14 patients is reported who underwent soft-tissue reconstruction using different free fasciocutaneous flaps after radical debridement. Radical debridement and microvascular reconstruction were performed in two operative steps. The mean duration of disease was 14 years (range: 6 months to 37 years). At a mean follow-up of 31.4 (12 to 52) months, there was no evidence of recurrence of osteomyelitis. This retrospective study validates that fasciocutaneous flaps can be used for microsurgical soft-tissue reconstruction after radical debridement in the treatment of chronic osteomyelitis. The introduction of free fasciocutaneous flaps has challenged the dictum of the therapy of chronic osteomyelitis with muscle flaps.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, University Hospital Basel, Switzerland. mzweifel@uhbs.ch.
authors.forename: Mirjam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zweifel-Schlatter
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Haug
authors.forename: Dirk J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Schaefer
authors.forename: Edith
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Wolfinger
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ochsner
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pierer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease; D017577:Cutaneous Fistula / Q000601:surgery; D003646:Debridement; D005205:Fascia / Q000637:transplantation; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007085:Ilium / Q000637:transplantation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009336:Necrosis / Q000601:surgery; D010019:Osteomyelitis / Q000601:surgery*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012598:Sclerosis / Q000601:surgery; D013524:Surgical Flaps; D013977:Tibia / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D016896:Treatment Outcome