title: Free myocutaneous flap transfer to treat congenital Volkmann's contracture of the forearm.
abstract: The purpose of this study is to report our experience with free functional muscle transfer procedures for the late sequelae of the rare condition of congenital Volkmann's ischaemic contracture of the forearm. Four children, with an average age of 9.5 years (range 1.5-17), were treated and were followed for a mean of 6 years (range 1-14). Two patients had dorsal forearm contractures, and two had both flexor and extensor forearm contractures. We carried out free functional muscle transfers to replace the flexor or extensor muscles. The functional result was assessed according to the classification system of Hovius and Ultee. All patients had wrist contractures and skeletal involvement with limb length discrepancy that influenced the outcome. All five transferred muscles survived and improved the function of the hand in three of the four patients. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE 4.
authors.affiliation: Hand Surgery Department, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel Faculty of Medicine, Technion, Haifa, Israel guytalr@bezeqint.net.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rubin
authors.affiliation: Hand Surgery Department, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Palti
authors.affiliation: Hand Surgery Department, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gurevitz
authors.affiliation: Hand Surgery Department, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yaffe
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005542:Forearm; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D054061:Ischemic Contracture / Q000151:congenital* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D064827:Myocutaneous Flap; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Compartment syndrome; Volkmann’s ischemic contracture; free myocutaneous flap; neonatal gangrene of forearm; newborn