Reconstruction of Chopart's Amputation Stump Using Artificial Dermis Combined with Free Anterolateral Thigh Flap

A 63-year-old man dropped a metal chunk onto his left foot during his work and suffered a crush injury of the left forefoot. He underwent Chopart's amputation followed by stump coverage with sole skin at the orthopedic department on the same day. He was referred to our department for reconstruction because of poor vascularization and subsequent necrosis of tissue at the stump. After the necrotic tissue was debrided, exposure of the talus bone was noted. An artificial dermis was then applied to the stump wound, followed by local negative pressure wound therapy. After 3 weeks, the generation of a strong dermis-like tissue was observed at the site of artificial dermis grafting. We then performed flow-through free anterolateral thigh flap grafting to reconstruct the stump wound. This procedure involved suturing of the peroneal muscle group and tibialis anterior muscle, which were cut off during Chopart's amputation, and suturing the soft tissue surrounding the calcaneus firmly to the fascia lata of the anterolateral thigh flap, followed by suturing of the flap to the skin defect of the left foot. There were neither postoperative complications, such as skin ulcer and equinus/varus deformity, nor need for secondary repair of the grafted flap, so the patient was able to smoothly enter a rehabilitation program including gait training. The current reconstruction technique for the tissue defect following Chopart's amputation, consisting of artificial dermis grafting, negative pressure wound therapy, and flow-through free anterolateral thigh flap grafting, enabled safe and smooth gait rehabilitation with a forefoot prosthesis.