Background and objective.

Coverage defects in the upper limb have significant aesthetic and functional implications. Mostly this defects are treated by microsurgery, however in some institutions with limited economical resources or unavailability of this area, distant flaps become an important option for reconstruction. The vertical pattern abdominal flap is our first choice for the coverage of these defects.

Methods.

Retrospective study of cases with upper limb coverage defects treated with vertical pattern abdominal flap at the San Jorge de Pereira Hospital (Colombia) between 2016 and 2020.

Results.

Ten vertical pattern abdominal flaps were performed, all in male patients, with a mean age of 33.3 years. The etiology of the defects was electrical burn in 7 cases, traffic accident in 2 and blunt trauma in 1. In 9 patients an upper base flap was performed and in 1 a lower base flap, all of them under general anesthesia with a surgical time between 90 and 120 minutes. Adequate coverage was obtained in 100% of the cases, with suture dehiscence in flap area as the only complication.

Conclusions.

Vertical pattern abdominal flap is a versatile, reproducible, and safe option, useful in absence of resources or the possibility of performing microsurgery, Currently, it is our first option in upper limb covering defects, allowing to obtain satisfactory results with low complication rate.

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