Repair of skin and soft tissue defects around the knee joints combined with patellar ligament defects using free anterolateral thigh flaps with iliotibial tracts

• Published in: Zhonghua shao shang za zhi Vol. 31; no. 5; p. 327
• Main Authors: Han, Fu, Hu, Dahai, Liu, Yang, Yu, Hongliang, Ma, Shaojun, Wei, Guoxing, Zheng, Zhao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Chinese
• Published: China 01.10.2015
• Subjects: Extremities; Fascia Lata; Humans; Knee; Knee Joint; Patellar Ligament - surgery; Range of Motion, Articular; Reconstructive Surgical Procedures - methods; Skin; Skin Transplantation; Surgical Flaps; Thigh; Wound Healing
• ISSN: 1009-2587

To observe clinical efficacy of using free anterolateral thigh flaps with iliotibial tracts in repairing skin and soft tissue defects around the knee joints with patellar ligament defects. Twelve patients with skin and soft tissue defects around the knee joints and patellar ligament defects were hospitalized from June 2010 to June 2014. The defects of skin and soft tissue ranged from 7 cm × 6 cm to 16 cm × 12 cm in area, and patellar ligament ranged from 5 to 12 cm in length and 2.5 to 4.0 cm in width. Free anterolateral thigh flaps with iliotibial tracts were used to repair these defects. During reconstruction of patellar ligament, both ends of iliotibial tract were successively folded to form tendon-like three-layer structure at first, and then the newly formed structure was wrapped around the broken ends of patellar ligament and fixed with suture. The flap size ranged from 9 cm × 8 cm to 18 cm × 14 cm. The iliotibial tract ranged from 7 to 14 cm in length and 8 to 12 cm in width. The donor sites were close