Background and objective.

The reverse sural flap is still a resolute tool for complex soft tissue injuries of the distal third of the leg and the foot.

The aim of this paper is to present our experience with a modified technique to harvest the reverse sural flap, going first distally to identify the nerve, allowing to centralize the skin paddle in the real nerve axis, improving the vascularization of the skin paddle and avoiding accidents like unnoticed nerve detachment from the flap.

Methods. Coverage of complex defects in the lower limb with our modified technique for reverse sural flap was performed between 2016 and 2019 in 13 patients.

In this technique the first incision is made distally in the leg finding the sural nerve, then the skin paddle is centralized in the real nerve axis, the pedicle is ligated proximally and the flap is transposed to the defect.

Demographic characteristics and the most frequent complications in each case were identified. Descriptive statistics were used to present the patients features.

Results.

A total of 13 patients were included: 7 male and 6 women. The etiology of the defect was traffic accident in 9 patients, pressure sore in 2 patients, electrical burn in 1 patient and sarcoma of Ewing in 1 patient. In 2 cases a crossed leg skin flap was performed. In 10 patients surgery was done under regional anesthesia and in 3 patients general anesthesia. The surgical time was 1 hour and 30 minutes in 9 patients and in 4 patients was 2 hours.

There were 4 complications: 1 suture dehiscence, 1 seroma, 1 case of detachment of a crossed-leg flap by traction with subsequent total necrosis and 1 partial necrosis.

Conclusions.

This modified dissection technique for the reverse sural flap allows easier finding of the vascular pedicle, put in the center the skin island precisely, diminish the complications and optimize the size of the skin island and the donor site, being this more reproducible.

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