The free vastus lateralis muscle flap. A smart less used flap for soft tissue reconstruction of the weight-bearing foot.

Background: The lateral circumflex femoral artery one of the most favoured donor-site for a wide array of free flaps including either cutaneous, fascial and muscle components or a combination thereof. Here, we provide evidence on the safe use of the free vastus lateralis muscle flap and its feasibility for optimal soft tissue coverage of the weight-bearing foot.

Methods: Eighteen consecutive patients with soft tissue defects of the heel (n = 3, 16.

Predictors of Clinical Outcome after Reconstruction of Complex Soft Tissue Defects Involving the Achilles Tendon with the Composite Anterolateral Thigh Flap with Vascularized Fascia Lata.

Background:  The composite anterolateral thigh flap with vascularized fascia lata (ALT-FL flap) for covering complex soft tissue defects involving the Achilles tendon has shown promising results. The age and body mass index (BMI) are important predictors of clinical outcome after surgical treatment of Achilles tendon ruptures. In this study, we investigate whether these also influence the outcome of patients after Achilles tendon reconstruction using the ALT-FL flap.

The free medial sural artery perforator flap: Versatile option for soft tissue reconstruction in small-to-moderate size defects of the foot and ankle.

Background: The medial sural artery perforator (MSAP) flap shows advantages for reconstruction in the foot and ankle, where bulk is a liability. We evaluated the versatility of this flap and provide further evidence on its use for covering small-to-moderate size defects by comparing the outcome depending on the region of reconstruction.

Methods: Twenty-two patients with variable defects of 4 × 4 to 18 × 7 cm underwent MSAP flap reconstruction.