[Repairing soft tissue defect coverage in lower leg with a bridge shaped medial hemisleus muscle flap...

To summarize clinical application results of repairing soft tissue defect in lower leg with a bridge shaped medial hemisleus muscle flap pedicle transplantation.

From January 2008 to January 2012,12 patients with soft-tissue defect in lower leg underwent reconstruction with a bridge shaped medial hemisleus muscle flap pedicle transplantation. There were 8 males and 4 females with an average age of 34 years old ranging from 22 to 50 years old. Time after injury was from 2 to 12 weeks (means, 3.5 weeks ). The immediate coverage of the muscle flaps were performed by a meshed split-thickness skin graft. The donor site was closed directly.

All the muscle flaps had survived completely. Follow-up period ranged form 1.8 to 4.0 years (means, 2.8 years) postoperatively. The tibia and fibula fractures were confirmed healing. A good contour was confirmed at the recipient area. The results were evaluated with LEM questionnaire, excellent results were obtained in 6 cases, good in 5 cases and fair in 1 case. Satisfactory clinical results were obtained in 11 cases.

This technique is particularly useful for repairing soft tissue defect in the injured leg when only one vessel remains, and can reduce injury to donor site.