Bilateral lower limb salvage with free flaps in a patient with sickle cell ulcers

A patient with long-standing bilateral circumferential lower extremity sickle cell ulcerations refractory to conservative management was successfully treated with bilateral free latissimus muscle transfers. This report confirms the value of free tissue transfer in the treatment of these difficult skin ulcerations. Exchange transfusions that brought the SS hemoglobin below 30% were crucial to the prevention of sickling in the microcirculation of the flap during its obligate period of ischemia. Furthermore, they protected the flap during a period of ischemia that exceeded 4 hours following a postoperative arterial thrombosis. In the presence of severe thrombocytosis associated with sickle cell disease, prophylactic treatment with aspirin may be of significant value.