Soft Tissue Reconstruction of the Hand and Arm-Local and Regional Flaps for Hand Coverage

Local and Regional Flaps for Hand Coverage

Pdf Summary

Hand surgeons often need to provide soft tissue coverage for hand injuries where secondary intention healing or skin grafting is not sufficient. This review presents an overview of local and regional flaps commonly used for soft tissue reconstruction of the hand. Local flaps are those that originate from tissues directly adjacent to the defect and are typically completed in a single stage. They include the V-Y advancement and z-plasty flaps. Regional flaps are those that originate from other sites not directly adjacent to the defect but are derived from the same limb. They may have either a random pattern or an axial pattern of blood supply. Distant flaps are those that originate from outside the limb and almost always require at least 2 stages for harvest and application. The review also includes an algorithmic approach to soft tissue defects in the hand based on their location, as well as mention of distant flaps and free tissue transfer as more advanced techniques for hand reconstruction. Overall, this review provides an overview of the various options available to hand surgeons for soft tissue coverage in the hand.

Keywords

hand surgeons

soft tissue coverage

hand injuries

local flaps

regional flaps

V-Y advancement

z-plasty flaps

distant flaps

soft tissue defects

hand reconstruction