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[The superficial vein, cutaneous nerve and its nutrient vessels in the forearm: anatomic study and the clinical
1Department of Plastic Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical College, Zhanjiang, 524001, PR China.
Objective:
To provide an anatomic basis for designing the flap pedicled with neurocutaneous nutrient vessels, and for further understanding of this flap and its relations with other local venous flaps.
Methods:
Microanatomy and red-and-blue latex injection transparency method were applied to study 1. The medial antebrachial cutaneous nerve (MACN), the lateral antebrachial cutaneous nerve (LACN) and their nutrient vessels; 2. The relationship between the basilic vein and MACN and its nutrient vessels; and 3. The relationship between the cephalic vein and LACN and its nutrient vessels.
Results:
MACN is vascularized by paraneural vessels and LACN is by both paraneural vessels and the long artery. MACN is accompanied by its paraneural vessels and the basilic vein, so do LACN by its nutrient vessels and the cephalic vein. The distance range from the cutaneous nerve to its accompanying superficial vein is less than 1 cm, to its paraneural vessels is less than 0.4 cm; and the distance range from the paraneural vessel to the superficial vein is about 0.3-1.2 cm.
Conclusions:
A flap pedicled with cutaneous nutrient vessels could be designed along a superficial vein. The type of flap might be different because of the different neurocutaneous blood supply. Some locally transferred venous flap might be a flap pedicled with neurocutaneous nutrient vessels.