title: Simple approach to harvest of the anterolateral thigh flap.
abstract: The free anterolateral thigh flap has proven to be invaluable for many types of reconstruction, ranging from upper and lower extremity trauma to head and neck reconstruction. There exist some controversies relating to certain difficulties in flap harvest because of the intramuscular route of its major perforator, which can exceed 80 percent and create a longer, more tedious dissection. Strategies to expedite flap harvest and minimize technical challenges have been proposed. The authors propose a simplified approach to harvest the anterolateral thigh flap founded on topographic surface anatomy and the intrinsic vascular anatomy of the flap. No Doppler imaging or angiography is used for preoperative perforator mapping.
authors.affiliation: Dallas, Texas From the Department of Plastic Surgery, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saint-Cyr
authors.forename: Georgette
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Oni
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yi
authors.forename: Shannon M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Colohon
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D004210:Dissection / Q000379:methods*; D005263:Femoral Artery / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D006801:Humans; D013524:Surgical Flaps / Q000098:blood supply; D013848:Thigh; D020858:Tissue and Organ Harvesting / Q000379:methods*