Abstract
Reconstruction of the through-and-through defects of the oral cavity, involving oral mucosa, bone, and external skin is a major challenge. A single fibula osteocutaneous flap providing two skin islands is an option for such composite reconstruction. The number, location, and size of skin perforators were studied in the distal two thirds of the lower legs in 22 cases of fibula osteocutaneous flap mandibular reconstruction, and whether the skin paddle of the fibula flap could always be divided completely based on two distal perforators was examined. In this study, only 50% of the flaps had two or more distal perforators; thus, it was concluded that the skin paddle of the fibula osteocutaneous flap could not always be divided based on two distal skin perforators.
Acknowledgement
Presented at the 5th Kansai Interuniversity Symposium on State-of-the-Art in PRS, Osaka, Japan, 6 August 2011.