The inverted love-heart flap: a new island flap design

Abstract

Background: Island flaps are more mobile than local flaps in-continuity and rely on the laxity of the adjacent tissues. We present a new island flap design, called the inverted love-heart flap, used to reconstruct cutaneous defects of the limbs.

Methods: A retrospective chart review of patients who underwent inverted love-heart flap reconstruction post excision of a cutaneous malignancy during July 2017 to July 2019 was performed.

Results: Seventeen patients underwent 18 inverted love-heart flap reconstructions postexcision of a cutaneous malignancies during the study period. There were no reported cases of partial or total flap necrosis.

Conclusion: The inverted love-heart flap offers a reliable reconstruction for cutaneous defects. It has the advantage of a primary donor site closure, minimal patient morbidity and avoids the need for skin grafting and postoperative immobilization.

Keywords:

• Local flap
• island flap
• neurovascular island flap

Disclosure statement

The authors have no financial interests to disclose.