For full thickness wounds of the extremities, inadequate reconstruction can lead to prolonged healing and unsightly contour defects. While free flap surgery can help with many of these, there is a subset of smaller wounds which are not amenable to grafts, while remaining too small to warrant a free flap. In recent years, there has been an increased knowledge and interest in the perforating vessels of the extremities, which are small vessels that branch off from the main blood supply of the limbs. With advanced imaging and operative techniques, your plastic surgeon can transfer the tissue adjacent to the wound as perforator-based flaps, which replaces the wound with as close to similar tissue as possible, reduces operative time, and minimizes the need for distant donor sites.
Your extremity wound may be amenable to perforator-based local flap reconstruction. Our board-certified plastic surgeon is well trained in all forms of microvascular reconstructive surgery and will assess the wound to discuss the available options with you.