The extended medial plantar artery (EMPA) free flap for plantar foot defects

The medial plantar artery (MPA) flap was first introduced by Mir y Mir in 1954 and used to reconstruct a heel defect. The sole of the foot is designed to bear body weight and absorb the shocks of a bipedal gait. The properties of the plantar skin and deeper tissues are therefore highly specialised, and if normal function is to be restored, it is essential to replace “like with like” which is a fundamental principle of reconstructive surgery. The aim of this article is to introduce the concept of an extended medial plantar artery (EMPA) free flap for plantar foot defects. The advantage of the extended version of the MPA flap in the presented cases is the harvest of a larger bulk of tissue and thus the possibility of covering larger defects in the weight-bearing area of the foot. Level of Evidence: Level V, therapeutic study. © 2017, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.