The osteocutaneous fibula flap: an anatomic study.

Recent studies related to the fibula flap have disagreed regarding the anatomy of the cutaneous branches of the peroneal artery. To clarify this issue, various dissections of 35 injected fresh cadaver legs were done. Identifiable skin branches were found in 23 of 25 dissections. Skin branches from the proximal third of the peroneal artery always travelled an intramuscular course. Skin branches from the distal two-thirds of the peroneal artery were usually affixed to the posterior crural septum. Legs with peroneal artery skin branches had from three to seven branches (average: 4.7); each branch contributed to the fibular periosteal blood supply. The most reliably found skin branch was located within 2 cm of the fibula midpoint. These findings reinforce the fact that a large skin island supplied by branches of the peroneal artery can be harvested with the fibula flap, and that the most reliable cutaneous vessels are found in the lower two-thirds of the leg, run posterior to the fibula in the posterior crural septum, and are always associated with muscular side branches.