title: [Reverse anterolateral thigh flap for repair of wound defects with exposed tibia].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the method and effectiveness of reverse anterolateral thigh flap and muscle flap for repair of wound defects with exposed tibia in the proximal-middle leg.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between October 2005 and April 2010, 16 patients with wound defects with exposed tibia in the proximal-middle leg were treated with reverse anterolateral thigh flap and muscle flap. There were 10 males and 6 females, aged from 16 to 52 years. Injury was caused by traffic accident in 11 cases and by crushing in 5 cases. The disease duration of 1-6 hours (mean, 3 hours) in 10 patients and 6-14 days (mean, 10 days) in 6 patients, who underwent tibial fracture plate fixation in other hospitals. The size of wound ranged from 13 cm x 7 cm to 20 cm x 13 cm. The size of the flap ranged from 16 cm x 10 cm to 23 cm x 15 cm. The donor sites were covered with splite thickness skin grafts.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Infection occurred in 2 flaps at 5-7 days and was cured after 1 week of dressing change; the other flaps survived and the wounds healed by first intention. The incisions healed well and the skin grafts survived at the donor sites. All cases were followed up 10-23 months (mean, 18 months). The appearance of the flap was slightly overstaffed, but the color and texture were satisfactory. All fractures healed at 8-10 months after operation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It is effective to repair wound defects with exposed tibia in the proximal-middle leg with reverse anterolateral thigh flap and muscle flap.
authors.affiliation: No.2 Department of Surgery (Trauma Center), Guangxi Provincial Crops Hospital of Chinese People's Armed Police Force, Nanning Guangxi 530003, PR China. snby099@163.com
authors.forename: Mingshan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nong
authors.forename: Kaining
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Xing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Wu
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016038:Skin Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D017695:Soft Tissue Injuries / Q000601:surgery*; D013524:Surgical Flaps; D013977:Tibia / Q000293:injuries*; D014945:Wound Healing; D055815:Young Adult