Distally based lateral plantar artery island flap.

We report on the reconstruction of the lateral metatarsal head defect by a distally based lateral plantar artery island flap using the flexor digitorum brevis muscle. The pedicle for this flap was provided by a retrograde lateral plantar artery. We found that this flap was relatively simple and easy to perform and could cover large defects better than any other conventional local flap.