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Diabetic foot salvage with microsurgical free‐tissue transfer
Author(s) -
Musharrafieh Ramzi,
Saghieh Said,
Macari George,
Atiyeh Bechara
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
microsurgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.031
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1098-2752
pISSN - 0738-1085
DOI - 10.1002/micr.10118
Subject(s) - medicine , surgery , microsurgery , free flap , ambulatory , foot (prosody) , diabetic foot , retrospective cohort study , diabetes mellitus , philosophy , linguistics , endocrinology
The efficacy of microsurgical free‐tissue transfer for the treatment of chronic nonhealing infected diabetic foot ulcers was evaluated in a retrospective study. Between January 1992–December 1997, 10 patients underwent surgery at the American University of Beirut. Muscular free flaps were used to salvage 8 feet, and fasciocutaneous free flaps were used in 2 feet. The flap survival rate was 90%, a result that is equivalent to other series of microvascular tissue transfer in nondiabetic patients; the postoperative morbidity rate was comparable to that of nondiabetic patients. Infection control was achieved in 87.5% of patients. Seven of the 9 surviving patients had bipedal gait and were ambulatory, with full weight‐bearing on their flaps at the end of the 2‐year follow‐up period. Microvascular free‐tissue transfer can be used successfully for the salvage of infected diabetic foot ulcers. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc. MICROSURGERY 23:257–261 2003