A muscle-sparing technique for reconstruction of the defect left after excisional hip arthroplasty.

Muscle flap closure is the treatment of choice for coverage of the failed hip arthroplasty defect. Several described muscle flaps work well, but they sacrifice functioning parts of the abdominal wall or quadriceps femoris mechanisms. The authors describe the use of the tensor fascia lata musculocutaneous flap for this purpose. The technique described has been previously used successfully to reconstruct over 100 trochanteric pressure sores. This flap spares more important muscles, requires no skin graft, and exposes the deep wound well for debridement.