• Department of Plastic Surgery, Changhai Hospital, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, 200433, P.R.China;
WANG Yuchong, Email: drwangyc@163.com; XUE Chunyu, Email: xcyfun@sina.com
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Objective To explore the effectiveness of keystone flap in repairing skin and soft tissue defects around joint.Methods Between March 2013 and December 2017, 10 patients of skin and soft tissue defects around the joint were repaired with keystone flaps. There were 6 males and 4 females. The age ranged from 17 to 72 years, with an average age of 57.5 years. The skin and soft tissue defects located around the joints, including 2 cases of hip joints, 4 cases of knee joints, 3 cases of elbow joints, and 1 case of wrist joint. The cause of skin and soft tissue defects included scar contracture in 3 cases, basal cell carcinoma in 3 cases, squamous-cell carcinoma in 3 cases, and dermatofibrosarcoma protuberant in 1 case. The area of defects ranged from 4 cm×3 cm to 11 cm×11 cm. The keystone flap was designed beside the wound, and the V-shaped flap was designed at the longer side of the fan-shaped flap. The area of flap ranged from 7 cm×3 cm to 35 cm×10 cm. The flap was constantly compressed by vacuum assisted closure after operation for 3-6 days.Results Primary wound healing was achieved and the flaps survived. All patients were followed up 6-24 months (mean, 15 months). The texture and color of flap was similar to the adjacent area. The appearance and function of joint were satisfactory.Conclusion The keystone flap is a feasible and efficient way to repair the wound around joint. Furthermore, the skin color and texture is similar to the surrounding tissue after healing.

Citation: WU Minliang, GUO Rui, DAI Haiying, XU Jianguo, SUN Mengyan, WANG Xinwei, YU Hao, WANG Yuchong, XUE Chunyu. Application of modified keystone flap in repairing of skin and soft tissue defect around joint. Chinese Journal of Reparative and Reconstructive Surgery, 2019, 33(4): 471-474. doi: 10.7507/1002-1892.201812004 Copy

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