title: Free arterialised flow-through venous flap with venous anastomosis as the outflow (A-A-V flap) for reconstruction after severe finger injuries.
abstract: Abstract   For reconstruction of volar defects, an arterialised flow-through venous flap (A-A flap) can be used to restore the soft tissues and the digital artery at the same time. However, there have been reports that the circulation of this flap is inadequate. This study used a venous flap with only one venous anastomosis for the outflow of an A-A flap (A-A-V flap) to solve this problem. Six patients with defects of the finger soft tissues and digital artery after severe finger injuries were performed. The venous flap with a Y-shaped vein was harvested. The digital artery was reconstructed, after which the other proximal vein of this flap was anastomosed to the dorsal subcutaneous vein. The flap survived in all patients and histological examination of flap tissue showed a nearly normal architecture. This study describes the good results obtained with an A-A-V flap, and discusses the utility of our flap in comparison with previously reported venous flaps.
authors: Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Sumiya Orthopaedic Hospital, Wakayama, Japan. kawakatsu@sumiya.or.jp
authors: Motohisa
authors: M
authors: Kawakatsu
authors: Kozo
authors: K
authors: Ishikawa
authors: Kazuma
authors: K
authors: Sawabe
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000714:Anastomosis, Surgical / Q000379:methods; D001158:Arteries / Q000601:surgery / Q000637:transplantation; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005383:Finger Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D058752:Free Tissue Flaps / Q000098:blood supply*; D006085:Graft Survival; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D012039:Regional Blood Flow / Q000502:physiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014680:Veins / Q000601:surgery / Q000637:transplantation; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult