Use of the reverse flow island sural flap in the replacement of tissue loss involving the distal third of the leg, ankle and heel

The events leading to a tissue loss in the lower limbs are varied. The aetiology can be traumatic, infective, neoplastic, iatrogenic, vascular or systemic. Five patients with lesions involving the distal third of the lower limb, the ankle and the heel, traumatic in origin, presented at our service within the Faculty of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, University Hospital "La Sapienza" in Rome. In such patients, the surgical approach involved the repair of tissue loss through the use of the neurocutaneous distally based sural artery flap. The use of the reverse flow island sural flap, compared to other therapeutic options, is advantageous from varying points of view: ease in taking the sample, limited morbidity of the donator site, less time required for the surgical procedure. Regarding the flap, safety and simplicity of execution were implemented in accordance with our experience, dissecting a wide adipo-fascial peduncle. Post-operative precautions were implemented in order to avoid compression of the transposed flap and of the peduncle. The healing in these patients was satisfactory.