Recycled free septocutaneous perforator flap.
In planning the sequential transfer of free flaps with an adequate time interval, the transferred prior flap can be considered a potential donor site when it becomes partially dispensable as a result of redundancy. Increased control of the range of flap thickness is one of the advantages of a perforator flap. Therefore, a transferred perforator flap with a redundancy in thickness could be reelevated later as a thin perforator flap that leaves significant subcutaneous tissue intact. We present an unusual case in which a prior free perforator flap was reelevated as a thin flap and transferred as a free flap to another location. Two years after the first transfer, the medial thigh septocutaneous perforator-based flap in the calf region was elevated again, with only the inclusion of a thin subcutaneous layer based on the same perforator pedicle, and was moved as a free flap to the anterior tibial region. The use of a prior perforator flap as a donor site for a later flap can avoid the additional sacrifice of a new donor site. The recycling of redundant perforator flaps to yield another flap through tangential splitting is another advantage of perforator flaps.
Mun
Goo-Hyun
GH
Department of Plastic Surgery, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea. gh.mun@samsung.com
D000293:Adolescent; D003286:Contracture / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D007869:Leg Injuries / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D009336:Necrosis; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D012086:Reoperation; D013524:Surgical Flaps / Q000473:pathology