Vulvar loss of soft tissue leads to urinary, sexual and morphological dysfunctions. Most patients affected are comorbid making it difficult to perform a flap, which is the most appropriate way to reconstruct. Our multidisciplinary plastic and gynecologic surgery team has developed a new technique using a pedicled internal pudendal island flap. Reconstruction is reliable, quick and applicable to all patients, with a highly satisfactory final appearance.

Flap-based reconstruction techniques have shown promise in preventing scar contractures and enhancing healing in fold areas by providing vascularized and thick tissue. We report a septic rupture of the superficial femoral artery treated with an arterial allograft and covered with a contralateral pedicled Deep Inferior Epigastric Artery Perforator (DIEP) flap. The patient presented favorable outcomes, including optimal healing at 8 months, with no functional limitation. A literature review also discusses alternative pedicled perforator flaps. These modern techniques present several advantages, including reliability, and can be of great interest in complex vascular surgery cases.

Facial gunshots injuries remain challenging and present functional and aesthetic problems. Such defects generally require composite tissue flaps for reconstruction. Rebuilding the palate and the maxilla is especially delicate because it requires reconstitution of the facial buttresses, and replacement of bony hard palate, based on occlusion, as well as the restoration of the thin intraoral and intranasal lining which normally constitute the soft palate. Various methods of reconstruction have been applied to this area in search of an ideal soft tissue and bone flap to restore the bony framework of the maxilla and palate while providing an internal lining. The scapula dorsal perforator flap is used in the case of a patient to successfully reconstruct the palate, the maxilla and the nasal pyramid in one stage. Free tissue transfer using thoracodorsal perforator flaps and scapula bone free flap have been already described in literature but never to perform the nasal pyramid reconstruction at the same time. Good functional and aesthetic results have been obtained in this case. This article also reviews, through the authors experience and literature, anatomical landmarks, indications, technical surgical tricks, advantages and disadvantages of this flap for palatal, maxillary and nose reconstruction.

This article deals with a clinical case of a tube in a tube TDAP phalloplasty in a 38 years old trans-man. While penis reconstruction surgery aroused an efflorescence of different operative techniques, the resulting female to male surgery sees these procedures boil down to two or three flaps. If we usually discuss before surgery about the way to lengthen the urinary tract, as the way to implant later for intercourse; the choice of the donor site remains too systematized. Surgeons commonly focus on the reconstructed site prior to the donor site. In this case, laxity in the back and reliability of direct closure make us harvest the thoracodorsal perforator flap. Dissection of perforators saves muscular function and direct closure afford an aesthetic result less visible than a graft on the forearm. The thin flap we harvest allows tube in tube phalloplasty so that phallus and urethra are being built in the same time. One case has been reported in the literature of thoracodorsal perforator flap phalloplasty with grafted urethra, but no case of tube within a tube TDAP phalloplasty.

The shape modified radial forearm flap was developed by the late Dr. Musa Mateev. This type of propeller flap has many benefits, especially for donor site morbidity. However, it is not currently widely used for the coverage of hand defects. Therefore, we will describe the Dr. Mateev technique including a demonstrative video of our experience in remembrance of Dr. Mateev and his brilliant work with upper limb reconstruction.

The forearm is an interesting donor site for non-vascularized nerve grafts, especially hand surgeons. Very few studies have described the use of the lateral and medial antebrachial cutaneous nerves (LABCN and MABCN, respectively) as vascularized nerve grafts (VNGs). The aim of this anatomical study was to analyze the characteristics and vascularization of these nerves to describe new potential donor sites for VNGs. Twelve forearms were dissected from fresh cadavers injected with red latex. The number of terminal branches, lengths, and proximal and distal diameters of both the LABCN and MABCN were studied. An anatomical description of the cutaneous perforator arteries from the radial and ulnar arteries that vascularized the nerve was also recorded: number of perforators, length, type of perforator (septo- or musculocutaneous), and location within the forearm (proximal, middle, and distal third). In over 80% of the specimens, the cutaneous perforator arteries from the radial and ulnar artery vascularized the LABCN and the MABCN, respectively. These arteries, found mostly in the proximal third of the forearm, had diameters >0.5mm. Most of them came from the radial and ulnar arteries (for LABCN and MABCN vascularization, respectively). In over 75% of the specimens, the nutrient arteries of both nerves also vascularized the superficial veins and the skin. We found that these nerves are vascularized by perforators arteries, which also participate in vein and skin vascularization. Altogether, this anatomical study shows that reconstructive surgeons could use new VNGs based on the perforator artery of the forearm.

Classically, history of prior abdominal liposuction has been considered a relative contraindication for breast reconstruction using deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) flap. The rationale for this is based on the fact that liposuction can possibly damage perforating vessels, which could compromise flap survival. However, multiple recently published reports have shown that imaging using CT angiography or colour Duplex ultrasonography could be used to accurately assess the adequacy of the perforating vessels before DIEP flap harvest. This contraindication is currently being reconsidered in the scientific literature. We present a case of partial DIEP flap loss in a patient with history of abdominal liposuction that happened despite preoperative identification of adequate perforators using CT angiography and intraoperative clear evidence of patent anastomoses. This occurrence reopens in our view the question of whether DIEP flaps can be safely performed on patients with a history of abdominal liposuction, even in the presence of adequate perforators on regular CT angiography or Doppler ultrasonography. While abdominal liposuction may not injure perforating vessels, its detrimental effect on linking micro-vessels within the flap cannot be fully evaluated using CT Angiography. Therefore, the use of another imaging modality, such as the indocyanine green laser angiography, to assess perfusion before DIEP flap harvesting is performed and could be considered in patients with history of abdominal liposuction.

Soft tissue sarcomas are rare malignant tumors with pejorative prognosis. They require a multidisciplinary approach in a specialized hospital belonging to the NetSarc network in France. In all cases treated with curative intent, the objective of excision surgery is to achieve wide, microscopically negative margins (R0 according to the UICC classification). When growing on a limb, sarcomas may threaten functionally relevant structures and even lead to amputation. Nowadays, when combined with radiation therapy, wide exeresis limb-sparing surgery is achievable in 90 to 95% of the cases, of which 25% will nevertheless require reconstructive surgery to preserve the limb, to limit postoperative complications and to manage possible sequelae. Progress in reparative surgery, particularly in microsurgery, has helped not only to improve limb salvage rates but also to create wider margins without altering oncologic goals of curative resection. After determining the range of resection, reconstructive surgery should be tailored to address the tissue defect. The converse is to be strongly discouraged. The extent of resection must not be compromised or reduced in order to facilitate reconstructive surgery. A plastic surgeon must master all the flap techniques, including microsurgery, while taking into account the impact of preoperative and postoperative radiation therapy on previously irradiated tissues or on wounds requiring adjuvant therapy. Recent developments, especially as regards perforator flaps, have helped to enhanced the quality of reconstruction procedure while reducing donor site morbidity. In our experience, perforator flaps are a workhorse in reconstructive surgeries subsequent to soft tissue sarcoma of the extremities. On a parallel track, lipofilling (otherwise known as fat grafting or fat transfer) has become the first-line treatment for patients with post-surgical functional or cosmetic sequalae. It is performed after long-term follow-up during disease-free survival. Strict clinical examination and MRI are mandatory prior to programming any local procedure. Usually, three to four sessions of fat grafting are needed to enhance local trophicity or the cosmetic aspect. Sequalae treatments are of great interest in terms of psychological as well as functional outcome.

Defects around the knee exhibit various etiologies and pose challenges to both orthopedists and plastic surgeons. While a number of reconstructive coverage options are available, flaps are almost always required for complex defects. Many local flaps are easily placed, including muscle and perforator flaps sourced from the thigh to the leg. As the recipient vessels lie deep, free tissue transfers are challenging. Good postoperative management and efficient collaboration between orthopedic and reconstructive surgeons are the keys to successful knee reconstruction, restoring an esthetic contour and preserving joint function.

Immediate vaginal reconstruction is usually offered following pelvic exenteration for recurrent cervical cancer in women previously treated with radiotherapy or with severe radiation-induced fistulae. Introduction of muscle-sparing flaps, such as the pedicled vertical deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) flap, provides viable tissues for vaginal reconstruction and is associated with reduced donor-site morbidity. This report describes the surgical technique, which is one of the procedures of choice for vaginal reconstruction. It is safe and beneficial, especially for women with gynecologic cancer who have undergone pelvic exenteration after failed radiation therapy.