Background and objective.

Lower extremity injures are a frequent entity and sometimes required advanced reconstructive treatments for each affected area. There has always been a question about when would be the best surgical time to perform reconstructions of these injuries.

For this reason, the main objective of this study is to provide a better understanding of the time of reconstruction of the lower limb as well as the functionality, from cases analyzed at the Medical Center Lic. Adolfo López Mateos in Toluca, México.

Methods.

Retrospective case study combining different methods: observational, descriptive statistics for data analysis and follow-up of cases with leg and foot injuries requiring surgical management, reviewing files between March 2017 and February 2020. We included 29 cases divided into 4 recons- truction groups: from 0 to 3 days; from 3 to 21 days; from 22 to 90 days; and more than 90 days.

Results.

The most frequent injury mechanism was motorcycle accident and burns in 27.59%, followed by run over in 17.24%. The most affected leg third was the lower one in 37.93%. The most frequently used type of flap was sural reverse in 31.03%. The 13.70% of the patients underwent reoperation and the main complication was total necrosis of the flap in 10.34%.

Conclusions.

The highest number of complications were found in the third group with a reconstruction time of 22 to 90 days. The greatest flap losses occurred in this group as well as less functionality of the limb. From this we can deduce that an optimal reconstruction time for lower extremity injuries is within the first 21 days. Likewise, we can conclude that it is important to carry out rehabilitation in a timely manner to generate fewer sequelae.

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