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Comparison between anterolateral thigh, radial forearm, and peroneal artery flap donor site thickness in A sian patients—A sonographic study
Author(s) -
Hsu KueiChang,
Tsai WeiHsuan,
Ting PeiSan,
Hsueh JungHua,
Chen LeeWei,
Lin YingSheng
Publication year - 2017
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.30164
Subject(s) - medicine , peroneal artery , surgery , thigh , forearm , artery
Purpose This study aimed to determine the thicknesses of the three locations used as donor sites for radial forearm (RF), anterolateral thigh (ALT), and peroneal flaps and to determine probable contributing factors of the thickness. Methods This study included 201 healthy participants (mean age: 45.8 ± 17.2 years; male: 114; female: 87; BMI: 24.3 ± 4.3). Sonography was used to measure the thickness of flap donor sites. Forward stepwise regressions were conducted to determine the contributing factors of flap thickness. Results The RF flap (0.28 ± 0.08 cm) was thinner than peroneal flap (0.47 ± 0.17 cm) ( P < 0.0001), and peroneal flap was thinner than ALT flap (0.98 ± 0.4 cm) ( P < 0.0001). Flap type ( P < 0.001, 95%CI: 0.33–0.41), BMI ( P < 0.001, 95%CI: 0.02–0.033), gender ( P < 0.001, 95%CI: −0.3 to −0.17), and age ( P = 0.002, 95%CI: −0.005 to −0.001) were the contributing factors of flap thickness. In the subgroup analysis, BMI was the only contributing factor of RF flap thickness ( P < 0.001). For ALT and peroneal flaps, age, gender, and BMI were the contributing factors ( P < 0.001). The coefficient of BMI was 0.005 in RF flap, 0.01 in peroneal flap, and 0.04 in ALT flap. Conclusions The RF flap was found thinner than peroneal flap, and peroneal flap was found thinner than ALT flap. The BMI effects on RF and peroneal flaps were much less than that on ALT flap. Therefore, the RF and peroneal flaps would be the better choice in obese patients with soft tissue defects where a thin flap is needed.