Sartorius muscle flap for body wall reconstruction: Surgical technique description and retrospective case series

The objectives of this study were to describe the sartorius muscle flap for body wall reconstruction, including description of the anatomy and surgical technique and to report its clinical application for abdominal wall reconstruction in dogs and cats. The descriptive report involves a retrospective case series for 2 dogs and 3 cats. Inclusion criteria were cats or dogs that had a tumor resection resulting in an abdominal wall defect that was reconstructed using an ipsilateral or contralateral sartorius muscle flap. Signalment, pre-operative clinical signs, location and tumor extent, diagnostic imaging and clinical pathology findings, surgical methods, and complications were recorded. Abdominal wall defect reconstructions using the sartorius muscle flap were successfully performed in all 5 patients with good return to function. All complications were minor and were successfully medically managed. This case series demonstrates that the sartorius muscle flap is a feasible option for the closure of large caudal abdominal wall defects.