Superficial sural artery flap--a study in 40 cases.

The distally based superficial sural artery flap is an important skin flap that can be used for soft tissue defects of the distal lower limb and proximal foot. It is a versatile flap, has a wide arc of rotation and requires minimal expertise. Forty patients with soft tissue defects of the lower leg due to various causes were treated with sural flaps and the results are discussed. The flap was either used as a long pedicled flap or islanded to treat patients with ages ranging from 4 to 75 years. The arc of rotation of the flap was N 90-180 degrees with minimal flap loss in most of the cases. On this basis we would like to reintroduce the safe and reliable use of the sural flap to treat large soft tissue defects of the distal lower limb and the proximal foot.