Tetsuya Tsutsui

Minimal invasive lymphaticovenular anastomosis under local anesthesia for leg lymphedema: is it effective for stage III and IV?

This is the first report on the effectiveness of minimal invasive lymphaticovenular anastomosis under local anesthesia for leg lymphedema. Fifty-two patients (age: 15 to 78 years old; 8 males, 44 females) were treated with lymphaticovenular anastomoses under local anesthesia and by postoperative compression using elastic stockings. The average duration of edema of these patients before treatment was 5.3 ± 5.0 years. The average number of anastomosis in each patient was 2.1 ± 1.2 (1–5). The patients were followed for an average of 14.5 ± 10.2 months, and the result were considered effective (82.5%) even for the patients with stage III (progressive edema with acute lymphangitis) and IV (fibrolymphedema), but others showed no improvement. Among these cases, 17 patients showed reduction of over 4 cm in the circumference of the lower leg. The average decrease in the circumference excluding edema in bilateral legs was 41.8 ± 31.2% of the preoperative excess length. These results indicate that minimal invasive lymphaticovenular anastomosis under a local anesthesia is valuable instead of general anesthesia.

Superficial circumflex iliac artery perforator flap for reconstruction of limb defects.

The superficial circumflex iliac artery perforator (SCIP) flap differs from the established groin flap in that it is nourished by only a perforator of the superficial circumflex iliac system and has a short segment (3 to 4 cm in length) of this vascular system. Three cases in which free superficial circumflex iliac artery perforator flaps were successfully transferred for coverage of soft-tissue defects in the limb are described in this article. The advantages of this flap are as follows: no need for deeper and longer dissection for the pedicle vessel, a shorter flap elevation time, possible thinning of the flap with primary defatting, the possibility of an adiposal flap with customized thickness for tissue augmentation, a concealed donor site, minimal donor-site morbidity, and the availability of a large cutaneous vein as a venous drainage system. The disadvantages are the need for dissection for a smaller perforator and an anastomosing technique for small-caliber vessels of less than 1.0 mm.

Medial plantar perforator flaps with supermicrosurgery

Since the 1980s, the concept of the perforator flap has been modified to include new perforator flaps. A medial plantar perforator flap, which has no fascial component and is nourished only with perforators of the medial plantar vessel and a cutaneous vein, or with a small segment of the medial plantar vessel, was developed. A free medial plantar perforator flap was successfully transferred for coverage of a soft-tissue defect in the finger. The advantages of this flap are minimum donor site morbidity, minimum damage to the posterior tibial and medial plantar systems, no need for deep dissection, possible thinning of the flap with primary defatting, a short time for flap elevation, use of a large cutaneous vein as a venous drainage system, a good color and texture match for finger pulp repair, a concealed donor scar, and possible application as a flow-through flap as a free flap and an island perforator flap for plantar weight-bearing defects.

New anterolateral thigh perforator flap with a short pedicle for reconstruction of defects in the upper extremities

Three cases of successful transfer of a new free anterolateral thigh (ALT) perforator flap for coverage of soft-tissue defects in the hand and upper arm are described. This new flap has a thin superficial fatty layer, no fascial component, and is vascularized with a perforator of the descending branch of the lateral circumflex femoral system. The free flap is nourished by anastomosing of the perforator or the proximal small segment of the descending branch. The advantages of this flap are no need for deep dissection, minimal time for flap elevation, minimal donor site morbidity, preservation of the main trunk of the lateral circumflex femoral system, possible thinning of the flap with primary defatting, possible application as a flow-through flap, and a concealed donor scar. This flap is suitable for coverage of defects in the fingers, hands, and arms.

Medial and lateral malleolar perforator flaps for repair of defects around the ankle.

Reconstruction for defects around the ankle continues to be challenging. Repairs have been effected with the dorsalis pedis flap, the medial plantar flap, and with reverse-flow island flaps using the anterior and posterior tibial systems and the peroneal system. However, sacrifice of the major vessels of the lower leg and wide and long scars at the donor site are disadvantages of these flaps. To overcome these disadvantages, the authors developed island lateral and medial malleolar flaps with the perforators located close to the ankle. These flaps are easy to elevate, involve a short operating time, require no sacrifice of major vessels or muscles of the lower legs, and the use of these adipofascial flaps makes donor scars more acceptable. Malleolar perforator flaps are suitable for the repair of small ankle defects.

Successful delayed venous drainage in 16 consecutive distal phalangeal replantations

The authors describe, in the first report of this type of replantation surgery, a high success rate using delayed venous anastomosis in 16 consecutive distal phalangeal replantations under digital block. Among these replantations, seven fingers (43.8 percent) showed postoperative venous congestion and five fingers were reoperated on with delayed venous drainage under digital block. All the reoperated fingers were successfully drained by additional single or double venous drainage with a vein graft. As a result, 13 fingers survived (81.3 percent success rate). All operations were performed under a digital block.

Sequential vascularized iliac bone graft and a superficial circumflex iliac artery perforator flap with a single source vessel for established mandibular defects

The major problems in dealing with established mandibular loss are severe soft-tissue contracture and a limited number of recipient vessels. The skin portion of the iliac osteocutaneous flap often necrotizes in cases without perforators of the deep circumflex iliac vessel. To overcome these problems, eight patients with established mandibular loss and no skin perforators of the deep circumflex iliac vessel were treated with a sequential vascularized iliac bone graft and a superficial circumflex iliac perforator flap with a single recipient vessel. Regarding the recipient vessels, the ipsilateral cervical vessels were used for four patients, and the contralateral facial and ipsilateral superficial temporal vessels were used for two cases each. The superficial circumflex iliac perforator flaps were 7 to 28 cm in length and 3 to 15 cm in width. The iliac bone grafts ranged from 7 to 13 cm in length, and three cases were repaired with the inner cortex of the iliac bone. There were no serious complications, such as flap necrosis or bone infection and resulting absorption. The advantages of this method are that both pedicles are very close to each other and of suitable diameter for anastomosis. Simultaneous flap elevation and preparation for the recipient site is possible. The skin flap and vascularized bone graft can be obtained from the same donor site. A single source vessel can nourish both the large skin area and bone sequentially. Longer dissection of the superficial circumflex iliac system to the proximal femoral division is unnecessary. A large flap can survive with a short segment of the superficial circumflex iliac system. Only the vascularized inner cortex of the iliac bone needs to be used, and the outer iliac cortex can be preserved, which results in less morbidity at the donor site.

Free gluteal artery perforator flap with a short, small perforator.

The introduction of supermicrosurgery has led to the development of a new gluteal perforator flap nourished only by a musculocutaneous perforator of the superficial gluteal artery system. This flap has a perforator that is short (3-4 cm in length) and small (less than 1 mm). The successful transference of a free gluteal perforator flap for the coverage of soft-tissue defects in the foot and face in two patients is described in this article. With this flap, deeper and longer dissection for a pedicle vessel is unnecessary, flap elevation time is shorter, thinning of the flap with primary defatting and creation of an adiposal flap with customized thickness for tissue augmentation are possible, the donor site is in a concealed area with minimal donor site morbidity, and application of the flap as a scarred flap for previous operations in the gluteal region is possible. The disadvantages of this flap are necessity of dissection for a smaller perforator and of anastomosis of small-caliber vessels of less than 1.0 mm.