Dorsalis pedis arterialized venous flap for hand and foot reconstruction

Objective:To report the results of repair of skin defects in the extremities with arterialized venous flap harvested from the lateral aspect of the dorsum of the foot. Methods:Six cases of skin and soft tissue defects over the foot and hands were resurfaced by free arterialized venous flaps,including five patients with skin defects of the hands,and one with defects at the dorsum of the foot. The flaps were harvested from the lateral aspect of the dorsum of the foot with the sizes ranging from 2 cmx5.5 cm to 6 cm×11 cm.Two veins at the proximal margin of the flap were retained,one of which was anastomosed to a recipient bed artery to provide arterial inflow and the other was anas- tomosed to a recipient bed vein for venous outflow. Results:All flaps demonstrated mild edema and survived completely.Blisters appeared on four flaps.Using this technique,we achieved good functional and cosmetic results in this series. Conclusions:Dorsalis pedis arterialized venous flap with rich vascular communications could enhance peripheral perfusion and decrease congestion of venous flaps,thereby improves reliability and utility for extremity reconstruction.