Advanced plastic surgery techniques for soft tissue coverage of the diabetic foot

Obtaining stable, durable, and functional wound closure of a diabetic foot wound or open pedal amputation through plastic surgical techniques is essential to limit the potential for repeated ulceration, infection, and "supra-pedal" amputation. Myriad conservative and surgical techniques can be used to obtain wound closure. The authors discuss their approach and present operative pearls for their most commonly employed plastic surgical techniques to provide adequate soft tissue coverage of diabetic foot wounds. Emphasis is placed on the techniques necessary to perform these procedures and the surgical thought process involved in closing diabetic foot wounds.