Retrograde Sural Nerve Nutrient Vascular Flap for Repairing Soft Tissue Defects in the Foot and Ankle Region

YUAN Min; HAN Guozhang; GUAN Picai; WANG Shikui; GAO Zhiyuan

doi:10.13919/j.issn.2095-6274.J202403062

Abstract：Objective To explore the clinical effect of using a retrograde sural nerve nutrient vascular flap repair scheme for patients with soft tissue defects in the foot and ankle.Methods Eighty patients with soft tissue defects in the foot and ankle treated in the orthopedics department of Huangdao District Hospital in Qingdao were selected as the research subjects.They were randomly divided into the retrograde sural nerve nutrient vessel flap repair group(research group)and the lateral femoral flap repair group(control group),with 40 cases in each group.We comparatively analyze the inflammatory factor indicators in postoperative patients,follow-up of patients with soft tissue defects in the foot and ankle,satisfaction with postoperative appearance,flap survival rate,and skin elasticity at the repair site.Results There was no statistically significant difference in preoperative inflammatory factor scores between the two groups(P＞0.05),and after treatment,the score of the study group was lower than that of the control group(P＜0.05);After treatment,the research group's very satisfied rate(42.50％)and the overall satisfied rate(97.50％)was significantly higher than those of the control group(12.50％,77.50％)(P＜0.05);After treatment,the survival rate of skin flaps in the study group was 97.50％(39 cases),which was higher than that in the control group of 70.00％(28 cases).The elasticity of the repaired skin improved in the research group was better than that in the control group.The statistical results showed a significant difference(P＜0.05).Conclusion The use of the sural nerve nutrient vessel flap repair method for patients with soft tissue defects in the foot and ankle can improve inflammatory factor indicators,enhance patient satisfaction with postoperative appearance,increase the survival rate of the flap,help repair the skin elasticity of the repair site,and have higher safety.