Lateral arm composite tissue transfer to ipsilateral hand defects.

Different applications in the use of the ipsilateral lateral arm free flap in 29 patients treated in our unit from November 1983 to December 1984 are described. The flap was used in both elective and emergency reconstruction with a success rate of 96.5%. This flap is elevated from the same limb as the injured hand, permitting the entire operative procedure to be performed with the patient under a single regional block anesthesia, both flap and recipient sites being prepared synchronously in a bloodless field.