Summary:
Soft tissue defect of the lateral malleolus and achilles tendon
is very challenging for reconstruction due to the bony
prominence and limited local tissue availability. The purpose
of this study to describe our early experience of 30 patients
treated with this flap for reconstruction of posterior heel
defects with or without exposure of tendo-achilles.
The study was conducted at department of plastic surgery,
National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedic
Rehabilitation between 2015 to 2018. Twenty five patients
(20 male and 5 females) with soft tissue defects over the
posterior heel underwent reconstruction using a lateral
calcaneal flap. The etiology is trauma in twelve patients,
chronic ulcer in four and surgical wound dehiscence for
repair of Tendo-Achilles in nine patients. Patients age range
from 15 to 60 years (mean 35yrs) and follow up period ranged
from 6 months to 2 years(mean 1 yr).
All flaps had good perfusion and survived completely. In 3
cases there was partial loss of skin graft managed
conservatively. The lateral calcaneal flap can be used safely
to provide sensory skin coverage of posterior heel in single
stage.
Key Words : Soft tissue defects, Lateral Calcaneal Flap,
Tendo-Achillis
(J Bangladesh Coll Phys Surg 2020; 38: 116-120)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3329/jbcps.v38i3.47058