The radial forearm flap in the management of soft tissue injuries of the hand.

Soft tissue injuries of the hand frequently require flap cover either to preserve structures damaged at the time of injury or to facilitate later reconstruction. Techniques such as the groin flap, the abdominal flap and the cross arm flap require staged procedures and until now, surgeons have had to resort to the more complicated microsurgical techniques required in free flap transfer to obtain soft tissue cover in a single-stage. The radial forearm flap makes local tissue readily available and offers a simple and effective one-stage method of soft tissue reconstruction. Surgery is confined to a single limb permitting early mobilisation and rehabilitation. The vascular anatomy of the radial forearm flap will be described and three cases presented to illustrate this technique in the management of differing soft tissue injuries of the hand.