Brachioradialis muscle flap for posterior elbow defects: a simple and effective solution for the upper limb surgeon.
Brachioradialis
arthroplasty
complication
defect
elbow
flap
fracture
wound
Journal
Journal of shoulder and elbow surgery
ISSN: 1532-6500
Titre abrégé: J Shoulder Elbow Surg
Pays: United States
ID NLM: 9206499
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
Aug 2019
Aug 2019
Historique:
received:
07
08
2018
revised:
12
03
2019
accepted:
13
03
2019
pubmed:
23
6
2019
medline:
26
11
2019
entrez:
23
6
2019
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
Trauma, infection, and posterior surgical approach are the most frequent causes of soft tissue defects of posterior elbow. The brachioradialis (BR) muscle flap is a rotational muscular pedicled flap, and the dominant vascular pedicle arises from the radial recurrent artery in the proximal portion of the muscle. The aim of the study was to present the BR muscle flap as a simple, safe, and effective solution for the treatment of soft tissue defects of the posterior elbow. Five patients (3 males; mean age, 61.4 years; range, 40-73 years) with soft tissue defects of the posterior elbow underwent surgical treatment with the BR muscle flap. The causes of the defects were total elbow arthroplasty and postsurgical infection (n = 2), 1 patient with elbow arthrodesis due to neuropathic arthropathy, and postsurgical infection after open reduction and internal fixation of olecranon fractures (n = 2). All patients had a BR muscle flap and skin grafting. Orthopedic hardware was removed in 3 cases. At the mean follow-up of 45 months (range, 26-61 months), all patients had viable and functional soft tissue coverage. All patients were free of infection, whereas 1 patient had a posterior elbow discomfort in daily activities. None of the patients reported wrist problems. The BR muscle flap is a reliable solution, easy to harvest without requiring microsurgical expertise for small-size posterior elbow defects. It is a 1-stage procedure with no morbidity to the harvest site that provides stable and adequate coverage even in cases with postoperative infection.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
Trauma, infection, and posterior surgical approach are the most frequent causes of soft tissue defects of posterior elbow. The brachioradialis (BR) muscle flap is a rotational muscular pedicled flap, and the dominant vascular pedicle arises from the radial recurrent artery in the proximal portion of the muscle. The aim of the study was to present the BR muscle flap as a simple, safe, and effective solution for the treatment of soft tissue defects of the posterior elbow.
METHODS
METHODS
Five patients (3 males; mean age, 61.4 years; range, 40-73 years) with soft tissue defects of the posterior elbow underwent surgical treatment with the BR muscle flap. The causes of the defects were total elbow arthroplasty and postsurgical infection (n = 2), 1 patient with elbow arthrodesis due to neuropathic arthropathy, and postsurgical infection after open reduction and internal fixation of olecranon fractures (n = 2). All patients had a BR muscle flap and skin grafting. Orthopedic hardware was removed in 3 cases.
RESULTS
RESULTS
At the mean follow-up of 45 months (range, 26-61 months), all patients had viable and functional soft tissue coverage. All patients were free of infection, whereas 1 patient had a posterior elbow discomfort in daily activities. None of the patients reported wrist problems.
CONCLUSIONS
CONCLUSIONS
The BR muscle flap is a reliable solution, easy to harvest without requiring microsurgical expertise for small-size posterior elbow defects. It is a 1-stage procedure with no morbidity to the harvest site that provides stable and adequate coverage even in cases with postoperative infection.
Identifiants
pubmed: 31227467
pii: S1058-2746(19)30232-0
doi: 10.1016/j.jse.2019.03.020
pii:
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
1476-1483Informations de copyright
Copyright © 2019 Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery Board of Trustees. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.