• Archives of Reconstructive Microsurgery
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.103-110
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• 1997

Since R.Y. Song(1982) has reported anatomic studies about septocutaneous perforator flap, various experiences especially on thigh flaps pedicled on septocutaneous artery were reported. Baek(1983) reported an anatomic study through the cadavers dissections on medial, lateral thigh area and provided the first new cutaneous free flap of thigh for clinical use. Song, et a1.(1984) reported anterolateral thigh free flap, Koshima, et al.(1989) reported pedicle variations and its versatile clinical usages. According to their reports, accessory branches of lateral femoral circumflex artery are placed in comparatively constant location and proved to be the effective pedicle of this flap. The advantages of anterolateral thigh free flap are 1) comparatively thin 2) can obtain sufficiently large flap 3) can contain cutaneous nerve 4) can be easy to approach anatomically because pedicle is located in comparatively constant position 5) minimal donor site morbidity. We report the experience of 10 cases of anterolateral thigh free flap coverage for soft tissue defects: 4 cases of soft tissue defects on foot area, 2 cases of soft tissue defects on hand, 3 cases of partial tongue defects owing to tongue cancer ablation, and 1 case of soft tissue defect on nasal alar.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.20-27
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• 2008

Purpose: The anterolateral thigh flap has many advantages over other conventional free flaps. But the anterolateral thigh flap has yet to enter widespread use because perforating arteries exhibit a wide range of anatomic variations and are difficult to dissect when small. The aim of this study is to identify the vascular variability of perforating arteries and pedicle in the anterolateral thigh free flap. Methods: We studied 12 cadavers and dissected 23 thighs. An anterolateral thigh flap ($12{\times}12cm$) was designed and centered at the midpoint of the line drawn from anterior superior iliac spine to the superolateral border of the patella. After we identifed the perforating arteries we dissected up to their origin from lateral circumflex femoral artery along descending branch of lateral circumflex femoral artery. We then investigated the number and the position of perforating arteries, length and diameter of vascular pedicle and pattern of lateral circumflex femoral arterial system. Results: On average $2.3{\pm}1.1$ perforating arteries per thigh were identified. The musculocutaneous perforators were 63.1%. In those perforators five perforators were arose from transverse branch of lateral circumflex femoral artery and two were arose from rectus femoral artery. Most of the perforators were near the intermuscular septum between rectus femoris muscle and vastus lateralis muscle. The length and diameter of pedicle were $11.9{\pm}3.5cm$ and $3.1{\pm}0.8mm$ on average. Conclusion: This study will be helpful for the success in anterolateral thigh free flap.

• Archives of Reconstructive Microsurgery
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.162-166
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• 2002

The anterolateral thigh free flap was first reported by Song et al. in 1984 as a fasciocutaneous flap based on septocutaneous or musculocutaneous perforators of the lateral femoral circumflex vessel. It only becomes popular recently through confirmation of additional anatomy. For reconstruction of Achilles area defect, a thin flap is required to improve aesthetic and functional results. The anterolateral thigh free flap is relatively thin and can provide large skin area. It can be a useful option for reconstruction of Achilles area defect based on these characters. Since March 2002, we have successfully transferred 4 anterolateral thigh free flaps to reconstruct Achilles area defects and have attained good range of motion in this region. The anterolateral thigh free flap has many advantages and can be used for the reconstruction of Achilles tendon area defect.

• Archives of Reconstructive Microsurgery
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.146-156
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• 1998

Microvascular surgery has been widely used clinically for over 30 years. Although many types of free skin and myocutaneous flap are being used at present, surgeons are still looking for new flaps to suit the specific requirements of different recipient sites, to reduce the deformity at the donor site, to ease the management of the flap and to increase the success rate of those operations. The lateral thigh free flap was designed and reported simultaneously with the medial thigh free flap by Baek in 1983. The flap, based on the third perforator of the profunda femoris artery. is designed on the posterolateral aspect of the distal thigh. Clinically, the vascular variations and the locations of perforators of this system can be determined preoperatively with simple angiograms and Dopper audiometry. The lateral thigh free flap is suitable for reconstruction of defects in an oral floor with tongue and esophageal deficits, scalp defects with dural defects, and large full thickness defects of the lip. The advantages of this flap are safe elevation, a long vascular pedicles with a large lumen, skin that is generally thin, and good pliability. Furthermore, the skin territory is very wide and long. The donor site is hidden and therefore more acceptable to the patient. The disadvantage of this flap is that the anatomy of the pedicle vessels has irregular derivation from the main vessel. We had reconstructed lateral thigh free flap to the nine patients from January, 1997 to July, 1998 and got satisfactory results. In this paper we illustrate the arterial anatomy of the thigh and usefulness of this flap for the reconstruction of the head and neck.

• Archives of Reconstructive Microsurgery
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.39-47
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• 2007

With the advent of microsurgery, perforator free flap is nowadays considered the first choice for reconstruction of the extensive defect of the extremities because of their moderate thickness. Among them, anterior (anterolateral and anteromedial) thigh perforator free flaps provide the first choice for reconstruction of various soft tissue defects of the extremities with many advantage such as its large, uniform thickness, long vascular pedicle with proper vessel size and minimal donor site morbidity. But, it has still some criticism of unreliable perforators which makes us very careful in elevating the flap. Between March of 2006 and February of 2007, we treated 7 patients of soft tissue defects in the hand and lower extremities with anterior thigh perforator free flap at Hallym and DongGuk University Hospital. We performed 6 anterolateral thigh perforator free flaps based on the descending branch of lateral circumflex femoral artery (LCFA) and 1 anteromedial thigh perforator free flap based on the innominate branch of the LCFA. While approaching for the anterolateral thigh free flap, we happen to meet the cases which we should change into the anteromedial thigh free flap uneventfully on the operating field. In contrast to the original design of anterolateral thigh free flap, we had to harvest the anteromedial thigh perforator free flap in 1 case. All the anterior thigh perforator free flaps survived completely except 1 case of partial necrosis due to venous congestion. Donor sites were closed primarily and healed uneventfully within 2 weeks. Patients were satisfied with the functionally and aesthetically acceptable results. Although doppler sonography is strongly recommended preoperatively in planning the anterior thigh perforator free flaps, we should always remember the variation in vascular anatomy and be ready to change the flap choice from the anterolateral to anteromedial intraoperatively. we provide a review of the literature and present our series of anterior thigh perforator free flaps for reconstruction of the extremities.

• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.526-530
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• 2009

Recently, the anterolateral thigh(ALT) flap, based on the septocutaneous vessels or musculocutaneous perforators from the descending branch of the lateral circumflex femoral artery has gained popularity in head and neck soft-tissue reconstruction. It has some advantages in free-flap surgery with respect to the radial forearm free flap, such as low donor site morbidity, availability of different tissues with large amounts of skin, adaptability as a sensate or flow-through flap (with the possibility of harvesting a long pedicle with a suitable vessel diameter). Moreover, the thickness of the flap is adjustable until the subdermal fat level, allowing it to be used as a thin or ultrathin flap. This clinical cases are ALT free flap reconstructions without functional impairment of the donor limbs (transitory and permanent) based on anastomosis with superficial temporal arteries and veins in patient of huge resection defect on face, lip and tongue.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.769-774
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• 2010

Purpose: As the soft tissue defect around the knee is difficult to reconstruct, local flap or free flap is used. Distally based anterolateral thigh pedicled flap introduced by Zhang uses sufficient reverse flow supplied from the vascular network around the knee. We report successful reconstruction of defect around knee by this method. Methods: Four patients with skin & soft tissue defect around knee have been treated for reconstruction using the distally based anterolateral thigh pedicled flap. First, the doppler was used to check the perforator flap of the descending branch of the lateral circumflex femoral artery and to draw and dissect the perforator flap as much as needed. After the dissection, the proximal of the descending branch was clamped and checked for sufficient supply of blood flow from the reverse flow and then ligated. It was dissected along the descending branch and in order to prevent damage to the joined parts of the descending branch and the lateral superior geniculate artery, a more careful ligation was done starting from 10 cm superior to the knee. The defect was reconstructed after securing enough vascular pedicle to cover all the damaged parts. Results: Not all patients suffered from flap necrosis. In case of the patient with chronic osteomyelitis, slight venous congestion was observed right after the surgery but it disappeared the following day. All three patients had no occurences of additional complications. Conclusion: Distally based anterolateral thigh pedicled flap was enough to provide large flap for knee reconstruction. It had sufficient blood flow and vascular pedicle. It also had taken short operation time compared to the free flap operation. The distally based anterolateral thigh pedicled flap used by the authors is a very useful way of reconstructing the area around knee.

• Archives of Reconstructive Microsurgery
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.24-30
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• 2005

Thigh perforator flaps are used popularly, because they have a small thickness, a long vascular pedicle and a low rate of donor site morbidity. Among thigh perforator flaps, anterolateral thigh perforator flaps are generally used, but it is not easy to dissect the vastus lateralis muscle to find the vasuclar pedicle. The authors have planed 11 anteromedial thigh perforator flaps that have septocutaneous perforators. We were able to find anteromedial thigh perforators in 8 cases(72.7%). The perforators originated from the medial descending branch of the lateral circumflex femoral artery in 2 cases and a branch to the rectus femoris muscle in 6 cases. Of this type of surgery, 7 flaps survived. However, 1 flap failed because of arterial insufficiency. We believe the anteromedial thigh perforator flap is a good option when the thigh region is decided as a donor site, but surgeons should keep in mind that the perforator of anteromedial thigh flap may be absent.

• The Journal of the Korean dental association
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• v.49 no.9
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• pp.535-548
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• 2011

The anterolateral thigh flap(ALT flap) was originally described in 1984 as a septocutaneous nap based on the descending branch of the lateral circumflex artery. This nap has some significant advantages for reconstruction of the head and neck. It can be raised as a subcutaneous flap, a fasciocutaneous nap, or a myocutaneous nap and can resurface large defects in the head and neck. In addition, it has a large and long vascular pedicle, and because of the distance of the donor site from the head and neck, it can easily be harvested with a two-team approach. However, the number and locations of cutaneous perforators vary individually, and thus, it is not widely used because nap elevation is often complicated and time-consuming owing to unexpected anatomical variations. The purposes of this study are to clarify the vascular anatomy and to assess the suitability of anterolateral thigh nap for oral cavity reconstruction in Koreans. In addition, we used anterolateral thigh free nap for oral cavity reconstruction in 20 oral cancer patients from 2006 to 2011. Through our clinical experience, we discuss a series of practical "pearls and pitfalls". Our experience has not only given us new flap choice using anterolateral thigh nap in oral cavity reconstruction, but also given us a new possibility on the applicability of chimeric naps.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.444-447
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• 2022

Reconstruction of soft tissue defects around the knee is challenging, and the most common solution is to use various locoregional flaps or, in some difficult cases, a free flap. The distally based anterolateral thigh (dALT) flap is a commonly used flap that relies on reverse blood flow from the descending branch of the lateral circumflex femoral artery (d-LCFA). Here, we present the case of an anteromedial knee reconstruction using a dALT flap after resection of a pleomorphic undifferentiated sarcoma. The tumor resection resulted in a 14 × 7 cm defect, and a dALT flap, measuring 20 × 8 cm was elevated. During the surgery, we found a robust oblique branch of the LCFA (o-LCFA) sending off two sizable perforators to the anterolateral thigh region, whereas the d-LCFA was relatively small with no usable perforators. Therefore, we harvested a dALT flap relying on reverse flow from the o-LCFA. The patient's postoperative course was uneventful, and the flap survived without complications. This report demonstrates that reverse flow from the o-LCFA may be an alternative to nourish a dALT flap in cases where the d-LCFA is hypoplastic or suitable perforators from the d-LCFA are unavailable.