The venoneuroadipofascial pedicled distally based sural island myofasciocutaneous and muscle flaps: anatomical basis of a new concept

Reconstruction of soft-tissue defects of the lower third of the leg, the heel and the foot remains a challenge. The distally based sural neurocutaneous flap has been used effectively to resurface these defects. However, the paucity of bulk in this flap makes it inadequate for complex post-traumatic or post-ablative soft-tissue reconstruction. We dissected 20 freshly amputated lower limbs after injecting them with a mixture of lead oxide and gelatin. We found muscular branches of the accompanying artery of the sural nerve to the gastrocnemius muscle in all 20 limbs. This led us to conceptualise the distally based venoneuroadipofascial pedicled island sural myofasciocutaneous and muscle flaps. These flaps are useful for the reconstruction of complex soft-tissue defects of the lower third of the leg, the heel and the foot. (C) 2002 The British Association of Plastic Surgeons.