title: Pre-expanded Brachial Artery Perforator Flap.
abstract: The medial upper arm flap is a time-honored yet ignored technique. It may be revitalized by combining the techniques of tissue expansion and perforator flap surgery. Pre-expansion increases flap dimension, remodels flap vasculature, and reduces donor site morbidities, making the medial arm flap a more effective option for various defect reconstructions. A pre-expanded brachial artery perforator flap achieves excellent functional and aesthetic outcomes in patients with soft tissue defects on the head and neck, axilla, chest wall, and upper extremity. Although this technique requires multiple procedures, each operation is relatively simple and has a low complication rate when properly performed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Plastic Surgery Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Ba-Da-Chu Road 33#, Beijing 100144, P.R. China. Electronic address: ybpumc@sina.com.
authors.forename: Yuanbo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Plastic Surgery Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Ba-Da-Chu Road 33#, Beijing 100144, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Mengqing
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zang
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Wenzhou Medical College, Wenzhou University-Town, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325035, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Maolin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Plastic Surgery Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Ba-Da-Chu Road 33#, Beijing 100144, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Shan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Plastic Surgery Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Ba-Da-Chu Road 33#, Beijing 100144, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jianhua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Plastic Surgery Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Ba-Da-Chu Road 33#, Beijing 100144, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D001916:Brachial Artery / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D061525:Perforator Flap / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000601:surgery; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D035441:Thoracic Wall / Q000601:surgery; D015626:Tissue Expansion / Q000379:methods*; D034941:Upper Extremity / Q000098:blood supply / Q000601:surgery
keywords: Brachial artery; Perforator flap; Septocutaneous perforator; Tissue expansion; Upper arm flap