Customized reconstruction of complex soft tissue defects in the upper extremities with variants of double skin paddle anterolateral thigh perforator flap

Abstract

Background: Complex soft tissue defects in the upper extremities are challenging to reconstruct. The purpose of this study was to share our experience with using four variants of double skin paddle Anterolateral Thigh Perforator (ALT) flap to achieve the customized reconstruction of the complex defects.

Patients and methods: From January 2007 to December 2019, 15 patients (14 male and 1 female) aged 15-61 years underwent double skin paddle ALT flap reconstruction of the upper extremities. 10 wounds were located in the wrist or hand, while four wounds were located in the forearm, and one wound in the elbow. All the wounds were large with non-adjacent defects and with or without a dead space. Four variants of double skin paddle anterolateral thigh perforator flaps were harvested according to the patient's needs.

Results: The flaps received were consisted of 7 classic double skin paddle ALT flap, 4 vastus lateralis muscle-chimeric double skin paddle ALT flap, 2 microdissected thin double skin paddle ALT flap, and 2 flow-through double skin paddle ALT flap. The size of the skin flap ranged from 6 × 6 cm² to 26 × 7 cm², and the size of the muscle segment ranged from 5 × 2 × 1 cm³ to 16× 6 × 2 cm³. Flap necrosis related to the pedicle kinking was observed in one patient, while the rest of the flaps survived without complications. The follow-up period ranged from 7 to 54 months, with a median of 15.6 months. The mean value of the qDASH scores at the last follow-up was 27.12 ± 16.51 (range, 11.4-59.1). None of the patients showed wrist flexion deformity. Postoperatively, three patients developed finger joint stiffness, which correlated with the severity of the injury.

Conclusions: Variants of double skin paddle ALT flaps provide versatile design and allow customized reconstruction of complex soft tissue defects in the upper extremities with limited donor site morbidity. We believe that the algorithm provided will help the surgeons with deciding among variants of double skin paddle ALT flap.

Keywords: Anterolateral thigh perforator flap; Chimeric flap; Complex soft tissue defects; Double skin paddle flap; Upper extremity.