Use of local muscle flaps to cover leg bone exposures.

Objective: To evaluate the use of the medial gastrocnemius muscle and/or soleus muscle flaps as surgical treatment of the leg bone exposure.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of patients undergoing transposition of the medial gastrocnemius and / or soleus for treating exposed bone in the leg, from January 1976 to July 2009, gathering information on epidemiological data, the etiology the lesion, the time between the initial injury and muscle transposition, the muscle used to cover the lesion, the healing evolution of the skin coverage and the function of the gastrocnemius-soleus unit.

Results: 53 patients were operated, the ages varying between nine and 84 years (mean age 41); 42 were male and 11 female.