title: Neural Anatomy of the Anterolateral Thigh Flap.
abstract: The anterolateral thigh (ALT) flap is one of the commonly used sensate flaps for intra-oral, hand, and foot reconstruction. The objective of this study was to describe the anatomic location of the sensory nerves supplying the ALT flap in relation to the surface landmarks and with the vascular pedicles. The dissections were carried out in 28 embalmed specimens. An axial line from the anterior superior iliac spine to the superolateral border of the patella and two circles with radii of 5 and 10 cm centered on the midpoint of the former line were used for the surface landmarks. At the intersection point of the axial line and the 10-cm circle, the main lateral femoral cutaneous nerve (LFCN) and its anterior branch were located within 1 and 2.4 cm, respectively. At the intersection point of the axial line and the 5-cm circle, the anterior branch of the LFCN was located within 2.8 cm. The anterior branch of the LFCN can be detected within 3 cm from the central perforator pedicle in all specimens. The posterior branch of the LFCN, superior perforator nerve, and median perforator nerve were found in more variable locations. The findings from our study provide additional information for clinical use in the planning of sensate ALT flap harvest.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, Phramongkutklao Hospital, 315 Ratchawithi Road, Bangkok, 10400 Thailand.
authors.forename: Suriya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Luenam
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, Phramongkutklao Hospital, 315 Ratchawithi Road, Bangkok, 10400 Thailand.
authors.forename: Krit
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Prugsawan
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, Phramongkutklao Hospital, 315 Ratchawithi Road, Bangkok, 10400 Thailand.
authors.forename: Arkaphat
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kosiyatrakul
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, Phramongkutklao Hospital, 315 Ratchawithi Road, Bangkok, 10400 Thailand.
authors.forename: Thanainit
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Chotanaphuti
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Phramongkutklao College of Medicine, Bangkok, Thailand.
authors.forename: Piyanee
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sriya
keywords: Anterolateral thigh flap; Lateral femoral cutaneous nerve; Neural anatomy; Sensate flap