Page 16 - Read Online

Moshrefi et al. Plast Aesthet Res 2017;4:204-8 Plastic and
DOI: 10.20517/2347-9264.2017.33
Aesthetic Research

www.parjournal.net
Topic: Complex Reconstruction of the Face, Breast and Wounds with Microvascular Free Flaps Open Access

Current applications of propeller flaps in

reconstruction of trunk wounds

Shawn Moshrefi, Gordon K. Lee
Division of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, Stanford University Medical Center, Palo Alto, CA 94305, USA.

Correspondence to: Dr. Shawn Moshrefi, Division of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, Stanford University Medical Center, Palo Alto, CA 94305,
USA. E-mail: moshrefi@stanford.edu; Dr. Gordon K. Lee, Division of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, Stanford University Medical Center, Palo
Alto, CA 94305, USA. E-mail: glee@stanford.edu

How to cite this article: Moshrefi S, Lee GK. Current applications of propeller flaps in reconstruction of trunk wounds. Plast Aesthet Res 2017;4:204-8.
ABSTRACT
Article history: Aim: Propeller flaps provide excellent reconstructive options for defects of many etiologies.
Received: 29 Apr 2017 Trunk wounds are a commonly encountered issue for the plastic surgeon and multiple techniques
First Decision: 16 Oct 2017 to address them should be prepared for implementation. Propeller flaps are a subject rarely
Revised: 27 Nov 2017 brought up as an option to address these wounds. The authors sought to elucidate this topic
Accepted: 27 Nov 2017 in the current plastic surgery literature available. Methods: A PubMed search was conducted
Published: 30 Nov 2017 based upon the defined inclusion and exclusion criteria and publications reviewed in detail.
Search terms included "trunk wound propeller flap", "trunk propeller flap", and "freestyle
Key words: trunk wound flap". Duplicate studies were excluded. Data was extracted from each study
Propeller flaps, pertaining to trunk wounds and reconstructions with propeller flaps. Results: The electronic
trunk wounds, search yielded 49 results with 21 studies ultimately meeting inclusion criteria. A total of 365
microvascular dissection flaps were described collectively amongst the included studies. Among them, 190 propeller
flaps addressing trunk defects were performed across all studies reviewed to address a total of
165 defects of the trunk: 14 abdomen, 101 back, 50 chest defects and adjacent respective flaps
were utilized for surgical reconstruction. Overall, cancer excision wounds were by far the most
prevalent with 105 cases (59.0%). Defect sizes of those specified in the articles ranged from
2 cm × 5 cm to 30 cm × 24 cm. Of the 190 propeller flaps identified, 63 total complications were
identified. The most common complication was 48 total cases of transient venous congestion
(25.3%). The second most common complication was partial flap necrosis (6.3%). No total flap
loss was noted. There were 2 cases of seroma (1.1%) and 1 case of wound breakdown (0.5%).
Conclusion: Propeller flaps are a viable reconstructive option for trunk wounds and should
be in the armamentarium of plastic and reconstructive surgeons. Few studies are available in
the literature regarding propeller flap reconstruction in trunk wounds. More aggregate data is
needed in order to further review, evaluate, and refine propeller flap techniques and results.

INTRODUCTION well as independent work introduced in 1989 by
Koshima and Soeda . Since then, the concept of
[2]
The concept of the perforator flap was first perforator flaps and propeller flaps has flourished
[1]
introduced in 1988 by Kroll and Rosenfield as both in theory, innovation, and clinical application.
Quick Response Code:
This is an open access article licensed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution,
and reproduction in any medium, as long as the original author is credited and the new creations are licensed under the
identical terms.
For reprints contact: service@oaepublish.com

204 © The author(s) 2017 www.oaepublish.com