title: Regional analysis of soft tissue thickness on korean buttocks and application to fasciocutaneous flap design.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Various shapes and designs of the gluteal artery perforator flap have been used for treating sacral pressure sores and reconstructing breasts. To establish the ideal fasciocutaneous flap design for use in the gluteal area, the soft tissue thickness distribution was measured.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-one buttocks of adult Korean cadavers were analyzed through rectangular subfascial dissection. Each buttock was divided horizontally into 10 sections and vertically into 10 sections, and then, the thickness at the corners of the sections was measured. For the sake of comparison and statistical verification with living bodies, computed tomography (CT) images of 120 buttocks of patients were randomly selected. Five horizontal sections and 4 vertical sections were made, and the thickness at each corner was recorded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  According to the dissection and the CT images, the area with the thinnest soft tissues in the buttock was around the posterior superior iliac spine, close to the sacral area. The thickest area was the superolateral area of the buttock, which was 3.24 times and 2.15 times thicker than the thinnest area in the studies on cadaver anatomy and the CT images, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The thickness of the soft tissues in the buttocks differed by area. The superolateral area had the thickest soft tissues, and the superomedial area had the thinnest. This study includes information on the distribution of the thickness of the gluteal soft tissues of Koreans. The outcome of this study may contribute to the design of effective local flaps for pressure sore reconstruction and free flaps for breast reconstruction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Kosin University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Do Yup
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Kosin University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Hyun Nam
authors.initials: HN
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Kosin University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Jin Hyung
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Kosin University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Sin Rak
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Kosin University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Hyun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Kosin University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Yea Sik
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Han
keywords: Breast; Buttocks; Perforator flaps; Pressure ulcer; Tissues