title: [Repair of wound on hand or foot due to electrical burn using free lateral upper arm perforator flap].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To observe the effect of free lateral upper arm perforator flap in repairing wound on hand or foot due to electrical burn.
  
  
  METHODS
  Six patients with full-thickness wounds on hand or foot resulting from electrical burn were hospitalized from June 2010 to June 2013. The wounds ranged from 6.0 cm ×4.0 cm to 8.5 cm×7.5 cm in area. Free lateral upper arm perforator flaps were used to repair these defects, with flap area ranging from 9 cm ×4 cm to 12 cm × 9 cm. The donor sites in five cases were closed by suturing; the other one donor site was closed by transplantation of full-thickness skin from abdomen.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One flap used to repair the wound in middle finger failed due to failure of venous return, and it was repaired with full-thickness skin harvested from abdomen after dressing change. The other five flaps survived resulting in good elasticity and matched appearance of the recipient area without obvious bulkiness. Patients were followed up for 6 to 24 months. The function of the injured hands or feet recovered well, and the results of function evaluation of five hands were excellent in 2 cases, good in 2 cases, and poor in 1 case. Little scar formation with no contraction or function impairment was observed on donor site, and the result was satisfactory.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Free lateral upper arm perforator flap, with long vessel and less adipose tissue, is suitable for repairing small but deep wound on hand or foot due to electrical burn.
authors.affiliation: Department of Burns and Reconstructive Surgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, China.
authors.forename: Pi-hong
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Burns and Reconstructive Surgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, China.
authors.forename: Ming-hua
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Burns and Reconstructive Surgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, China.
authors.forename: Ting-hong
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Department of Burns and Reconstructive Surgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Burns and Reconstructive Surgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, China.
authors.forename: Li-cheng
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.affiliation: Department of Burns and Reconstructive Surgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, China.
authors.forename: Peng-fei
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Department of Burns and Reconstructive Surgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, China.
authors.forename: Ji-zhang
authors.initials: JZ
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: Department of Burns and Reconstructive Surgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, China. Email: huxzhongxy@163.com.
authors.forename: Xiao-yuan
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001132:Arm / Q000601:surgery; D002058:Burns, Electric / Q000601:surgery*; D018409:Foot Injuries / Q000601:surgery; D006230:Hand Injuries / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D061525:Perforator Flap; D016038:Skin Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult