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Limb salvage of infected diabetic foot ulcers with free deep inferior epigastric perforator flaps
Author(s) -
Ohta Masayoshi,
Ikeda Mika,
Togo Takeshi,
Suzuki Shigehiko
Publication year - 2006
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.20180
Subject(s) - medicine , surgery , microsurgery , diep flap , free flap , perforator flaps , debridement (dental) , diabetic foot , soft tissue , breast reconstruction , diabetes mellitus , cancer , breast cancer , endocrinology
Soft‐tissue reconstruction of the feet in diabetic patients with angiopathy, sensorial neuropathy, and immunopathy is a complicated problem. Until the mid‐1980s, chronic foot ulcers in diabetic patients were treated conservatively, because flap surgery was regarded as too risky. However, in recent years, early debridement and flap coverage have become popular reconstructive methods for diabetic foot wounds. Several flap donor sites are available, depending on the nature of the defect. The deep inferior epigastric artery perforator (DIEP) flap is a relatively new flap that developed as a modification of the transverse rectus abdominis muscle (TRAM) flap. It provides a large amount of skin and subcutaneous tissue, without the donor‐site morbidity of the ordinary TRAM flap. Furthermore, using the DIEP flap avoids the loss of major vessels. In this study, we report on the successful use of the DIEP flap in four cases of diabetic foot ulceration. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc. Microsurgery 26: 87–92, 2006.