OBJECTIVE: To provide a series of surgical approaches for treatment of talus neck fracture, ischemic necrosis of talus body, and other bone lesions in ankle and foot. METHODS: The major blood supply to cuboid bone, medial cuneiform bone and navicular bone was observed in 30 adult cadavers, by infiltration of red emulsion via major arteries of the lower limbs. Based on these anatomical investigations, 3 types of vascularized tarsal bone grafting were designed for repair of bone lesions in the area of ankle and foot, and applied in 49 clinical cases, ranging from 10 to 58 years in age, and 43 cases of which were followed up for 4 years and 3 months in average. RESULTS: Primary healing was achieved in 40 cases, and secondary healing achieved after further surgical intervention in other 3 cases. The function of all ankle joints recovered satisfactorily. CONCLUSION: The designed three types of vascularized tarsal bone flaps are easy and reliable for dissection because of their superficial pedicles, and they are available for different clinical cases with various bone lesions in ankle and foot.
ObjectiveTo investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of free popliteal artery cutaneous branch flap anastomosed with lateral tarsal artery and vein for the repair of wound on the foot and ankle by anatomical observation and clinical application. MethodsLatex was poured into the blood vessels of 8 cadavers, then perforator vessel of posterolateral upper calf was dissected, and the popliteal artery cutaneous branch flap was designed with a pedicle of 2.5 cm in length; the lateral tarsal artery of the foot was dissected, could be freed to 6 cm in length; the diameter of these vessels was measured, and the number of the accompanying veins was counted. Between March 2010 and January 2013, 13 cases of foot and ankle wounds were repaired with popliteal artery cutaneous branch flap anastomosed with lateral tarsal artery and vein. The size of flaps ranged from 6.0 cm×4.0 cm to 7.5 cm×5.5 cm. There were 11 males and 2 females, aged from 41 to 65 years (mean, 47.3 years). The causes of injury included traffic accident in 8 cases, crushing in 4 cases, and twist by machine in 1 case. The size of wounds, ranged from 5.0 cm×3.5 cm to 7.0 cm×5.0 cm. The donor sites were sutured directly. ResultsAccording to anatomical observation, the popliteal artery cutaneous branch flap was designed by using the lateral popliteal artery perforator for shaft. The vessel of the pedicle perforator flaps from the popliteal artery cutaneous branch flap matched well with the lateral tarsal artery. Clinical results: vascular crisis occurred in 2 flaps, which survived after symptomatic treatment; the other flaps survived, with primary healing of wound and incision at donor site. The patients were all followed up 5-18 months (mean, 11 months). The flap had normal color and good elasticity. Second stage operation was performed to make the flap thinner in 3 female patients because of bulky flaps. The remaining patients had no obvious fat flap. According to American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) score for evaluation of the ankle function at 6 months after operation, the results were excellent in 7 cases, good in 5 cases, and fair in 1 case, with an excellent and good rate of 92.3%. ConclusionFree popliteal artery cutaneous branch flap anastomosed with lateral tarsal artery and vein for the repair of wound on the foot and ankle is simple and effective. The donor site is hidden.