Clinical experience with the reverse lateral arm flap in soft-tissue coverage of the elbow.

Coverage of soft-tissue defects of the posterior aspect of the elbow is a difficult problem. Many techniques have been published, mostly case reports. The radial recurrent fasciocutaneous flap as described by Maruyama and Takeuchi represents one of the best solutions for medium-sized defects. We used it successfully in five clinical cases. The anatomy of this flap, based on the radial recurrent artery, has been confirmed by our cadaver studies, and a technique to raise this flap safely will be described.