Clinical application of posterior tibial artery or peroneal artery perforator flap in curing plate exposure after ankle fracture fixation

Abstract

The study aims to evaluate the clinical application of posterior tibial artery or peroneal artery perforator flap in the treatment of plate exposure after ankle fracture fixation. A posterior tibial artery or peroneal artery perforator flap was used on 16 patients with plate exposure after ankle fracture fixation in our hospital between July 2018 and July 2021. The time required to harvest the flap, the amount of intraoperative blood loss, the duration of postoperative drainage tube placement, the outcome of the flap and the healing observed at the donor site are reported. The sizes of the flaps were 2.5–7.0 cm × 5.0–18.0 cm and averaged 4.0 cm × 12.0 cm. The time required to harvest the posterior tibial artery or peroneal artery perforator flap ranged from 35 to 55 min and averaged 45 min. The amount of intraoperative blood loss ranged from 20 to 50 mL and averaged 35 mL. The duration of postoperative drainage tube placement ranged from 3 to 5 days and averaged 4 days. A total of 15 flaps survived and one flap had partial necrosis and survived after conservative treatment. All donor area defects were directly sewed and stitched without complications. There are multiple advantages of the posterior tibial artery or peroneal artery perforator flap, including simple preparation technique, reliable repair of the defects and without the need for performing microvascular anastomosis. It can be safely used in curing plate exposure after ankle fracture fixation and worth popularizing in grassroots hospitals.