The use of fabricated chimeric flap for reconstruction of extensive foot defects

Repair of extensive foot defects requires both adequate tissues for wound coverage and special tissues for functional reconstruction. To maximize its function reconstruction, fabricated chimeric flaps consisting of multiple separate flaps were designed to reconstruct such defects. Five patients suffered extensive foot defects with sizes ranging from 23 × 12 cm to 38 × 14 cm(2) in multiple regions including heel, forefoot, dorsum, ankle, anterior leg, and even toes. Causes included crushing injuries, avulsion injuries, and scar excision. Most areas of the defects except heel were first covered by latissimus dorsi muscle flap or anterolateral thigh flap and their pedicles were anastomosed with recipient vessels. Then free medial plantar flaps were transferred for heel reconstruction and their pedicles were further attached to either side branches of the main source vessel or to its distal continuation. All chimeric flaps survived uneventfully and all patients were able to walk in normal footwear during the 1.5- to 4-years follow-up. None of the flaps developed ulcer and flap breakdown. The assessment by Maryland Foot Score showed that four of the five patients gained a "good" recovery and one patient showed moderate improvement of foot functions. Appearances of reconstructed heels were near-normal. The results indicate that fabricated chimeric flap has good design flexibility and may provide an option for functional reconstruction of extensive foot defects. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microsurgery 36:303-309, 2016.