Novel fasciocutaneous flaps for the reconstruction of complicated lower extremity wounds

Summary: Reconstruction of the leg is particularly challenging especially when the defect involves its lower third. The options for lower leg reconstruction are very few because of the lack of local soft tissue available for transfer. Novel fasciocutaneous flaps nourished by perforator vessels have been developed and are increasingly used as a valuable local alternative to the local flaps, with their high complication rates, and to the microsurgical flaps, with their more difficult and specialized technique. They provide local tissue, replacing like with like, but they harvest it from a distant, undamaged, region of the leg, which means healthy and well-vascularized tissue. They do not need…