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Updated: Dec 4, 2025
Treatment of Ankle Osteoarthritis with Total Ankle Replacement Through a Lateral Transfibular Approach
Published on: January 24, 2018
Safety of fibula free flap in patients following total knee replacement
Brianna N Harris1, Shabnam Ghazizadeh2, Rodrigo Bayon3
1Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Scripps Health, San Diego, California, USA.
Background:
Fibula free flap (FFF) is the preferred osteocutaneous flap for reconstruction of large head and neck composite defects. There is a paucity of data whether FFF can be performed safely in patients with knee replacement (total knee arthroplasty [TKA]).
Methods:
Multi-institutional review of outcomes following FFF in patients who had prior TKA.
Results:
Ten surgeons reported successful FFF in 53 patients with prior TKA. The most common preoperative imaging was a CT angiogram of the bilateral lower extremities. There was no evidence of intraoperative vascular abnormality. Physical therapy began between postoperative day 1 to postoperative day 3. At 1 month postoperatively, 40% of patients were using a cane or walker to ambulate, but by 3 months all had returned to baseline ambulatory status. At >1 year, there were no gait complications.
Conclusion:
FFF appears safe in patients with prior knee replacement without an increased risk of complications compared to baseline.
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