[Blood circulation of the "super-thin" skin flap with preserved subdermal vascular network and its clinical...

For the study of the blood circulation of the superthin skin flap, arterial perfusion of Chinese black ink was performed in 24 cadavers. From 1984 to 1990, "super-thin" skin flap transplantations have been done in 18 patients with deep injuries as a result of electric contact burn, wringer injuries, or chemical burns. The flap taken from thoracic, abdominal, or upper arm regions was trimmed before transfer, and 2 mm thickness of fat was left attached to the subdermal vascular network. The largest super-thin skin flap of the inguinal region was 7 cm in breadth at the pedicle, 15 cm in length and 20 cm in width at the distal part. All of these flaps survived after transfer. Division of the pedicles was performed 3-5 days postoperatively. The cosmetic and functional results were all satisfactory.