The Extensor Digitorum Brevis Muscle Island Flap for Soft Tissue Loss Around the Ankle and Distal Foot

단족지 신전근 도상 피판에 의한 족부 및 족관절부의 연부조직 수복

The extensor digitorum brevis (EDB) muscle island flap is a reliable, safe method for coverage of foot and ankle. There are many variation in approach such as curvilinear, zigzag, L-shaped or vertical longitudinal incision for exposure of the EDB muscle. These approaches use only single incision excluding the distal incision for exposure of the distal tendon. Since dorsalis pedis artery vascular bundle and sinus tarsi branch of the lateral tarsal artery both requires careful dissection, single incision alone may cause not only difficulty in exposure but also skin sloughing at donor site. So we tried to modify the approach into two parallel longitudinal incision, one for dorsalis pedis vascular bundle and the other for sinus tarsi branch exposure. The author treated 9 patient with EDB muscle flap. We used single incision in six patients, and two parallel incision in three patients. All the flap survived. In two parallel incision group, dissection was more easy and rapid. So we would like to suggest that two parallel longitudinal incision approach is better method than the single incision technique for exposure of the EDB muscle flap.