Soft tissue coverage of the ankle: An algorithm for appropriate flap selection and the experiences of a newly established Major Trauma Network.

Introduction: Replication of the thin and pliable native skin around the ankle remains a challenge for plastic surgeons treating soft tissue defects in this region. Flap reconstruction constitutes the mainstay of management of such injuries. Subsequent management often entails revisional debulking surgery to permit normal footwear and an acceptable aesthetic outcome.

Simulation models for learning local skin flap design and execution: A systematic review of the literature.

Introduction: Early exposure to practical skills in surgical training is essential in order to master technically demanding procedures such as the design and execution of local skin flaps. Changes in working patterns, increasing subspecializations, centralization of surgical services, and the publication of surgeon-specific outcomes have all made hands-on-training in a clinical environment increasingly difficult to achieve for the junior surgeon. This has been further compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic.